Sewing for the Holidays: Winnie the Cooper

Apologies for the gap in posts, but I permitted myself to take a break from the siren song of the laptop for the start of my winter break. By that I mean I was avoiding opening up my laptop because it'd mean I had to actually deal with the bureaucratic mess that is getting some paperwork done for my history thesis, but I do genuinely believe it's good to take nice, long breaks from the internet and it's charms when possible. And I promise I put that time to good use, as I whipped up two new makes during that time!

Without further ado, the first of the two Christmas gifts I handmade for special people in my life: the Winnie the Cooper Satchel for my sister!

The elusive sophisticated Winnie the Pooh print fabric has been found.

Initially, I was going to make a Cooper satchel for my dad, but I knew he'd be more particular about what he wanted in a bag so that plan got scraped. I really wasn't planning on making my sister one, but then I discovered this Winnie the Pooh printed burlap while traipsing around the Joann's website and everything clicked beautifully into place. I mean, a mature-looking Winnie the Pooh print?! Knowing how obsessed with Winnie the Pooh my sister is, I knew what I had to do, and thus in a marathon night of sewing (more because I had the motivation to tackle it right then and didn't want to stop working on it than because of time constraints) this Cooper satchel was born... with a slight modification.

No pannier here!

My sister doesn't ride a bike. She doesn't live in a very bike-friendly place, so she couldn't even if she wanted to. I knew the pannier straps'd be a waist on her satchel, but I still wanted to put the clasps I got in the hardware kit to good use. I considered a shoulder strap but my sister doesn't really like those, and then it hit me: why not make horizontal straps for it rather than vertical ones, so it could slide over the handle of a rolling suitcase and serve as an awesome travel bag? It was a really simple switch to make. First, I sewed the back handle into the top contrast panel rather than the bottom one, so it was neatly enclosed. I then eyeballed the length of the horizontal straps I'd want, taking the fact that the straps would need to be longer than one might think to accommodate the bag being full (okay, that makes it sound like I planned everything out, when really I just cut two long pieces of fabric and sewed them up as per the instructions for the bag's handles and it just happened to work out well), then sandwiched the raw ends into the side seams, backstitching there to reinforce it. Dad and I stuffed a twin-sized thick blanket into it to test the straps and they worked like a charm!

The body fabric is a great thick corduroy I found on sale that matches the red of Pooh's shirt perfectly; it makes this bag look a lot more "fashionable" than utilitarian, like the pack cloth of my messenger bag. It was my first time working with a fabric with pile, but mercifully bag sewing is a bit more forgiving than garment sewing so it wasn't tedious to work with at all, although I did have to give my machine a through cleaning afterwards as it left everything with a delicate frosting of red fluff. Since I was using burlap for the contrast fabric, I lined the bottom gusset with the corduroy as well, to make the bottom of the bag extra sturdy. I also lined the flap pieces with the lining fabric (a cute blue and white polka dot waterproof fabric that was cryptically labeled "bag fabric" at the Joann's, but it was in the utility fabric section and was $2.50 a yard so I figured what the hell, let's go with it), to ensure that the snaps wouldn't tear out of the loose burlap and that the flap itself wouldn't be too, well, floppy.

This pattern sewed up even more easily the second time around, with one notable difference: I totally bugged up those straps at first! I had the messenger bag instructions too fresh in my mind so I stitched the front straps down the entire body, which made it so that when I went to test how the bag looked with the handle done up I found that completely impossible. Mercifully, since the straps are sewn down entirely on the outside of the bag, it was a simple matter to seam rip out the extraneous stitching with no damage to the bag. Bless my lime green seam ripper, it's my best sewing friend (don't tell the shears or my teapot pin cushion).

I do wish I'd taken more care with cutting out the burlap- it'd be nice if I'd managed to get a Pooh between the handle straps rather than being cut in half by or creepily blindfolded by them. But! My sister is incredibly pleased with it, and really that's what matters the most to me.

Next up: a Deus Ex: Human Revolution inspired Newcastle Cardigan for my boyfriend, which was many a first for me (first time sewing for a guy, first time making a jacket, first time using facings- the list goes on!) But first, I need to recapture the cardigan from him to make a few fixes (definitely made the arms a little too long as I forgot that the cuffs were a thing) and so I can take some decent photos!

P.S. I got the Colette Sewing Handbook for Christmas, so definitely expect more Colette Patterns makes in the future. I love all the patterns (well, I might make the Pastille Dress have a fuller skirt, because I don't like dresses that are so fitted everywhere even though I know that's kind of the point of the dress, but) so I'm going to work through it almost like the Home Ec class I never had. I might go a bit out of order, though, as I have the perfect hunter green chiffon for the Taffy Blouse, and I'm itching to cut into it and try it out. This really is a beautiful book, full of great tutorials for the beginner and just inspiringly pretty in general!

A Completed Cutesy Cooper!

I studied for approximately eight hours straight yesterday, and I'll be doing about the same starting in an hour today, so I decided I would treat myself this morning to a bit of a break to bash out the rest of my Cooper bag. Hey, I need something to cart around all my Russian history textbooks, now, don't I? My satchel certainly can't, and it's finals time. This was a practical decision (or so I keep insisting to myself to nullify the mild guilt of devoting a few hours to a sewing project rather than studying).

Ready for the grand reveal?

It's possible this qualifies for green overload but I DON'T CAAAREEE.

This sucker is ADORABLE you guys. I struggled with a few parts, mainly because, well, my body fabric did not press well. And when I say not well, I really mean I literally melted the first flap strap piece I cut, and had a momentary panic of "oh god how brutally will they kill me if I cause a fire alarm during finals week". It creased nicely, however, so I ended up making the straps work by using an unholy quantity of pins to hold them in place, pinching the edges firmly a couple of times, and then leaving the pins in place while I sewed and removing them as I went along. My self-made shoulder strap doesn't like to lie particularly flat as a result, but hey, I take what I can get.

I decided to make my body pocket out of the contrasting fabric as well, rather than the main body fabric like the pattern suggested- when you have a contrast fabric this cute, it's a crime not to use it all. On that note, I have a shoulder guard in the works, but I couldn't complete it as I completely lack any velcro and lack the time and the vehicle to get out to a store to buy any, but it will get done! The fabric is already cut and ready. Oh, returning to the whole body-fabric-does-not-press thing: it also made it so my straps ended up a bit uneven. The right-side body strap is noticeably bigger than the left side, but honestly I'm just not that bothered by it. Considering this was my first time ever making a bag and using most of these materials, I'm just tickled pink it actually worked! Speaking of new materials...

OOIILLLCLOOOTHHH LIIIINIIINGGGG

The lining fabric was both a breeze and a bitch to work with, let me tell you. It cut and sewed up beautifully, easy as could be, but that stuff gets stiff. It does not want to get turned inside out without a significant struggle and a few tears. The fighting was worth it, though, as it gives the bag some wonderful shape and I just love how the fabrics go together- the cute green ribbons and purple fabric, uhg, it's too cute. I only sewed down the center of one pocket, as I wanted to leave the other full-sized as then it's the exact right size to accommodate my Nook. Plus, I know if a soda ever explodes in my bag it'll be an easy matter to just wipe down the inside! (I'm not speaking from personal experience, but my freshman year roommate definitely lost her favorite bag that way. Moment of silence for the sparkly zebra print purse.)

I used the Gifts for Crafters hardware set for this, and it was a total breeze. Doesn't hurt that the bronze finish happens to be my favorite, anyway, and that it went so nicely with my fabric choices! I'd never installed snaps or rivets before, but I was surprised by how straightforward it was. I think next time I will use a bit of interfacing to reinforce the snaps, though; I don't think my fabric will tear, but I still hold my breath a little bit every time I unsnap it. The rivets were a bit of a struggle as, confession, I lack an awl and mallet (I MacGyvered a makeshift one using a pair of tiny scissors and a lot of brute force, and then used a wine bottle opener as a mallet because I keep it classy), but it all came together in the end.

The other thing that absolutely amazed me was that my machine had no problems handling this, even when I had to sew through five+ layers of fabric at once. My machine isn't anything particularly fancy- in fact, much like this Cooper, it's on the cuter side of life (it's a mint green Hello Kitty Janome model), yet I have yet to run into anything it can't do. Sometimes the cute ones are more than they seem!

Now, the main motivation for this bag was I needed something big enough to hold all my books. As a history major, I get a lot of reading assigned, with a lot of textbooks to go along with it. How does the Cooper bag stack up under the pressures of a senior history major?

GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAAAHH. Now imagine the bag is saying that. You're welcome, I still haven't stopped giggling.

There are five books, one Nook, and two notebooks in there and the sucker is still ready for more. I could probably fit the majority of my textbooks for the semester in this little beauty, although I am a little concerned as to how well it'll hold up under that strain. I sewed the shoulder straps on about five times each for that very reason, though- I knew what this poor thing was gonna get into. But just, man, this thing is the TARDIS of bags, I genuinely think it's bigger on the inside.

... who let me think that, now I can't get the idea of a TARDIS blue satchel out of my head.

Obligatory modeled view! Ah, the mess of my room increases.

I am mildly concerned that since I went so cute with the fabric it ended up looking a bit like a diaper bag, but that's a very mild concern. I'm planning on adding some button pins to it and I think that'll take care of that concern in an instant (as well as draw attention away from the slightly messed up straps). I do really love the size this ended up being, though, it's exactly what I wanted without overwhelming me.

My Two Bags: A Love Story. Guest starring the unreasonably large Hello Kitty KISS bag I got at DragonCon from the WeLoveFine booth.

Between my satchel as my laptop bag and my Cooper as my "toss everything into it and run" bag, I think I have all my bases covered- and don't they look so nice together? Technically speaking my Cooper has its share of mistakes to its name, but even so the result is exactly what I envisioned, practical as all get out and go, and the mistakes aren't really noticeable unless you're A) familiar with the pattern and B) really looking for them. That's enough to make me inordinately proud of myself.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must put my new creation to work and trudge off to a Russian history study session. At least I'll be cute?

UPDATE: It kept all those books dry through a ten minute walk through a cold Williamsburg downpour, like a little boss. A+ job, bag friend.

P.S. While adding three of these photos into the Colette photostream for the contest, I realized that I made my flicker account years ago and it has the somewhat embarrassing moniker of moonlight-chan. I... I don't really have anything to say for myself on that front.

Cooper Sew-Along Planning

My favorite thing about sewing is fabric, and that can cause a bit of a problem. If I see fabric I like, I basically feel compelled to figure out something to make with it, just because I must have that fabric in my life. Now, I'm pretty good at resisting my impulses, but sometimes the most perfect fabric in the world appears and I suddenly find myself with a new project on the table when I really didn't intend to have one or honestly have the time for one.

Which brings me to the Colette Cooper Sew-Along, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Canvas. (Link in sidebar!)

Girliest interpretation of a unisex pattern ever. Well, probably not girliest, as I considered a Hello Kitty oilcloth lining, which definitely would've been a bit more girly. Left: main body fabric. Right: contrast flap fabric. Tiny center: adorable oilcloth lining.

I found the canvas on the right first, and everything snowballed from there. I needed that adorable patchwork mess of cuteness in my life. I already have a Cambridge Satchel Co. backpack (I know they call it a batchel but I can't bring myself to do that...) that was a gift from my grandfather and which I adore beyond words, but its limitation is that I really can't shove it full of books and be about my merry way. My laptop and a notebook pretty much fill it to capacity. This is a problem when you're a history major working on an honors thesis and constantly carting around books by the dozens- my poor Josh Groban tote bag can only take so much! And besides, it constantly slips off my shoulders, particularly in the winter when it can't get traction on my peacoat, which gets mad annoying. (The tote bag, I mean, not the backpack.)

I love messenger bags, though, and have been idly looking for a new one for, well, ages. I had a Ghost in the Shell one that I adored beyond words, but, uh, I kind of wore out the corners of it in high school. I don't know what it was that did the poor thing in, but something ate through the corners like a monster. Someday I'll get around to patching that up, maybe with some faux leather in a matching shade of blue as the Laughing Man (because of course I still have it even if it's useless right now, that bag is awesome), but even once I fix it I doubt I'll be loading it up with anything too heavy and it's not really the right size for loading up on the library books.

Anyway, the combination of Pattern I Really Like with Cutest Canvas Ever That I Must Own resulted in my jumping on this sew-along bandwagon and ordering, well, everything possible last night (main fabric, contrast fabric, lining fabric, pattern, and hardware kit- I decided to be lazy and just order one of the pre-made bronze kits from Gifts for Crafters along with my Cooper pattern, although I'll make up for my laziness by making a matching-fabric strap and key chain). Cannot wait to get started on this- the goal is to have it done before my trip to Los Alamos so I can use it as my plane bag, and so I can enter it in the sew-along contest. The fabric combo prize would be amazing- $200 at Spoonflower would mean one of my dream cosplays, Tali'zorah vas Normandy from Mass Effect, would be financially possible as I could get the really nice printed fabrics by eixyn, and that would just be all shades of magic.

Tali is probably my favorite of my (somewhat embarrassing) figure collection. I also swear I did not buy that glass pumpkin to match her, it just worked out that way.

The main reason I jumped on this, though, is because I know my dad's been looking for a specific type of satchel for the longest time, but can't find anything that's precisely right. Depending on how my whipping up the messenger bag goes, I might see about using this pattern to make him his ideal bag as a Christmas present, although I'd definitely have to get creative for it. You know those doctor's medical satchels that open up and then stay opened up, like they've got reinforcement in the bag or something, like this one? He wants one of those, but in a larger size and ideally not black. If I could make it in burgundy and brown with antique gold hardware, it would be absolutely perfect. But I figure I should probably not dive straight into that more complicated project, so starting off with the messenger bag makes a lot of sense to me. Depending on how this goes I can already see myself making my sister a backpack with camera-print canvas (she's a photographer) and my mom and downsized messenger or satchel of her own to use as a purse in a turquoise faux leather striped ticking... this could be the birth of a monster.

So, yes, I am now in that simultaneously delightful and agonizing period of waiting for new fabrics to come in so I can get to work on my new not-researching-or-writing downtime project of the Walden by Colette Cooper bag. Gonna be fun.

And no, I did not forget about the Newcastle Cardigan I'll be making my boyfriend for Christmas- I'm waiting on that fabric, too. It should be here Monday!

Totally nailed it with that rib knit jacquard as far as the Deux Ex inspiration jacket goes, so pleased with myself right now.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get as much work done as humanly possible before these fabrics arrive and the desire to immediately start playing with them overrides whatever vestiges of academic responsibility I have left to my name.