Sweet Treat Bag

Another small project completed! This Sweet Treat Bag was the project that Katie taught at last week's Daiwabo Club at Bigsby's. I think it's the first project that I have actually completed from the club (mostly I go to collect fabric, I think), but it was too darling not to work on it!

The project is based on a free pattern distributed by Moda. Katie's modifications included using only a half-length strip set and an uncut piece of fabric to make up the other side of the strip set (which becomes the interior of the bag anyways) and sewing an actual buttonhole closure rather than a decorative button plus Velcro as the real securing measure. I thought that both of those modifications worked pretty well.

However, I made a few further modifications, largely centering on what I thought was an overuse of stabilizer. There is a layer fusible batting applied to the pieced half of the bag, which I think gives it a nice weight. But there was a second layer of stabilizer that gave it way too much "crunch," in my opinion. So while I'd originally sewn it in, I pretty much ripped that half out wherever I could. I don't think it will matter as the whole purse is lined and is stabilized everywhere via the batting.

This was another quick, easy pattern that may find its way out again, come time to work on holiday gifts. And I did get to learn something new on my machine in making this project - how to make buttonholes! I must admit, however, that the instructions in the sewing machine book made little sense to me and it was mostly by trial and error (thank goodness I practiced first!) that I got it right. I also again used that lovely button sew-on program!