therefore I am: Sew

Cogito, ergo sum is probably one of the few concepts that I remember from my college philosophy class. I loved Descartes' phrase so much that I made myself a tshirt proudly exclaiming "cogito, ergo sum", and wore it religiously. I probably would still be wearing it now if I hadn't dropped a piece of my eskimo pie on the shirt. (I could never get the chocolate stain out of it.)

Remembering my love for Descartes, I created the following:

Colors

A gift I received from JoAnn, my Mum, some years ago.

Gathered clutch by Noodlehead

A few weeks ago I ran into the Gathered Clutch tutorial by Noodlehead and thought that it could be a great gift to make for my sisters. But first, I had to make a test run. With the clutch in mind, I headed to my nearest JoAnn's to pick out some fabrics. Shopping for fabric for any project is usually one of the most difficult steps for me. There are just too many options!

With all my fabrics cut out according to the tutorial, I was ready to start.

So what materials did I end up using?

1. Of the grey fabric: 1 piece 5.5" h x 9" w; 1 piece 5.5" h x 13"w
2. The plaid fabric: 4"h x 9" w
3. Vine & flower fabric: 2 pieces 5.5"h x 9"w
4. Interfacing: 4 pieces 5.5"h x 9"w
5. For zipper covers: 2 pieces 1.5"h x 2.5" w
6. One 8" zipper.

She suggests buying 1/4 of a yard of the outside and lining fabrics, but I bought a little more in case I made a mistake.

I must know myself really well, because the extra fabric came in hand when I gathered the front of my clutch too much, setting off an entire series of missteps that lead to a disfigured and lopsided clutch. Sigh. Well, I decided to start from scratch and salvaged the zipper from the epic fail that was my first attempt.

Okay, let's start this again. With my fabrics re-cut, I followed Noodlehead's instructions and began sewing the plaid fabric for the band. Then I sewed two lines on the outside fabric to create the gathered front. This is where on my first attempt things began to go awry.

Hoping to avoid making the same mistakes, I decided to mark out the lines, 1 inch apart, before I sewed them. It was easier to sew a straight line after I marked it. The front piece is cut 4 inches wider than the back to account for the gathering, which works out perfectly. However, after scrunching I lost my straight edges. No worries! I just trimmed them down about an inch and cut the other pieces to the exact same size. If you decide to try this tutorial out, I'd suggest adding about 1" or 1.5" to the height of the piece to account for the gathering.

Once the front piece is gathered and has a total width of 9 inches, pin and sew the band over the center, covering the stitches. Then iron the interfacing to the back. I also added interfacing to the lining pieces to make the clutch sturdier. It made a big difference in the end product.

So now that all the pieces are ready, it's time to assemble the clutch! Following Noodlehead's instructions, I began sewing the exterior fabric (FYI: the RIGHT sides of the fabrics should be facing each other, so that it looks like you're sewing the reverse side of your clutch). As the tutorial warns you: do not sew over the zipper covers!

The first time, I didn't heed the warning and it was a mess. After looking closely at this photo, I figured out that the zipper covers need to be folded over to the lining side.

I continued to sew all around the fabric pieces, leaving 3-4" inches open in the lining so that I could turn the clutch right side out.

And here's the finished product!

The second attempt was so much easier that I am ready to make more! So, don't be surprised if you see more of this clutch on here.

I wonder...

What will these pieces become??

We'll find out soon enough!

Welcome!

At the beginning of this year one of my friends promised a handmade gift to the first five people who commented on her status update. The catch? Each person then had to re-post the status, offering to make a handmade gift to 5 other people. I only got one response on my status, but I was inspired to create wonderful things with my own hands. And thus, I sew, therefore I am was born.

I'm kind of a novice at the whole hand making goods thing. In the past, I've found myself making plush dolls for my friends, or sewing up tote bags without a plan, and even attempting to make a dress or two without knowing how to read a pattern. Some items turned out better than others, but I always enjoyed the process of making things. Unfortunately, my lack of patience occasionally made the experiences less than enjoyable.

Having grown wiser and more patient since those early sewing endeavors, I'm excited to share my journey through new projects with you!