Emmaline Bags

Miss Maggie for Em

~ Michelle

I wanted to make a handbag for Em. It was one of her Christmas gifts.

I have many handbag patterns, but have only made three so far: Chris W’s Serendipity Hip, Emmaline Bags’ Craftsy Clutch Bag and Miss Maggie’s Handbag.I keep going back to the Miss Maggie’s because I really love the shape of the pattern. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a free pattern.So, it was a Miss Maggie’s again.

Even before I picked a pattern, I found this gorgeous material. I’m not even sure where I saw the material, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect. Em loves cats, and bright colors. Well, this is perfect for her

Em’s Miss Maggie’s

Here’s Em’s Miss Maggie’s:Oh, I’m loving this too.

I used iridescent hardware for this bag. I thought the shimmer of purple would go beautifully with the bright colors.

Here’s the side view:You can still see some kitties, but you can also see the black and grey material without the cats that I used for the back. It still gives some visual interest, but doesn’t take away from the front of the bag at all.

Here’s the back with the straps hanging down.I really like the back of the bag too.

I make my straps longer than the Miss Maggie’s pattern suggests. I make them long enough to make this a shoulder bag.

I also change the straps just a bit more by making them Jazzy. I read a post on Chris W.’s blog about Jazzy straps and have done this a few times now with my straps. You can read how to do it here.

One thing I learned about making Jazzy straps is to use the darker color for the part that will get the most use. I found on my Canada Miss Maggie’s that the straps were showing the most wear at the top where I’d hold them, or where I’d pick up the bag. Using a lighter color there wasn’t the best idea. It might add more pop at the top, but it also shows the most wear there too.

 Dressing Up Miss Maggie’s

 Miss Maggie’s Handbag doesn’t need a lot of dressing up, but she did get a couple of fun features in the hardware I used.

The first choice I made for Em’s handbag after picking out the fabric was to get the iridescent Long John strap anchors. I love these anchors and have used them most of the time I’ve made this pattern. This was the first time I used the iridescent. They add a lot of bling.Don’t they look great? I’ve also used iridescent rivets.

I bought some metallic purple faux leather from Emmaline Bags to make a tassel.That adds just a little more bling to the handbag. And this faux leather is lovely to cut. It’s very soft.

The tassel above is gold because the iridescent ones were out of stock at the time. I have since received the second iridescent tassel, and will give her both… as soon as I make that second one.

The last bit of bling had to be positioned just so.The Handmade tag had to be positioned just so one of the kitties was looking at it.

Here’s the inside of the handbag. A lot more bright colors. All the fabrics I used to make Em’s Miss Maggie’s came from the Cat-i-tude line of fabric.

I hope Em loves her gift as much as I loved making it.

Happy New Year & happy creating!

My Last Canada Bag

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I loved my first Canada 150 bag. I used Emmaline Bags’ Miss Maggie pattern.

I even enjoyed making a second and third Canada bag similar to my first bag.

I still wanted to have a Canada 150 bag just for me. So, this is my last Canada 150 bag. There will only ever be four of these made by me.

Things I Love

There are things I love about this bag – the pattern is free. (Have to love that.) The snaps bring it in, giving it a great shape. I really like the strap anchors, especially the Long Johns. This photo shows both the shape and the anchors.

I also love the bling I used like the sewn label, the leather maple leaf, the leather tassel, and handmade hanging tag.

In making these, I found I really liked the two-toned look of the second bag. I found the two-tones made it pop more.

Possibilities and Changes

I do want to include a zipper pocket inside as well as the slip pocket inside.

I’m thinking of changing the side snaps so they’re permanent by using rivets to create that shape. They won’t unsnap, and we’ll have to see if I mind that or not.

Canada 150 Take Four

So, after a little though of just what I wanted to include, here’s my final Canada 150 Miss Maggie bag: 

I went with a solid pattern because I didn’t have enough material left over from my other bags to do the two-toned look.

 I added a Sewn label, but just to keep all the bags individual, I put it in the bottom corner of the bag. I made a leather tassel. The first bag had 1/8″ fringes, this one has 1/4″ – again, just to add little touches to make them all different. This tassel is longer too.

Of course, the Handmade hanging tag. I love some bling.

I really love a back pocket, whether it’s a slip pocket or a zippered pocket. But I decided not to include one on this bag so as not take the focus away from the Long John Strap Anchors.

I saw a wonderful blog tutorial on Chris W’s Designs’ blog – Jazzy Straps. I loved Ellen’s straps. Mine aren’t as vibrant with contrasting colors, but I still love how they turned out. I took the regular 20″ length of the straps and added another 10″. The length is perfect for me for a shoulder bag. 

On the inside of the bag, I’ve made a slip pocket (not shown) which is included in the pattern, but also added a zippered pocket. I used the tutorial from Emmaline Bags for that. You can find that here. Just look at all those maple leafs!

I did add rivets to bring the sides in and secure them on this bag. I’m super happy with that part of my new Canada 150 handbag too. As well, I included a magnetic clasp for a closure.

Something all four bags have had in common is the bag feet I’ve used for them. I love these little feet. So much detail, but they don’t get seen very much. I kept forgetting to show them too.

Such a pretty detail.

All the hardware for my bag (except the feet) came from Emmaline Bags. The feet I found on Etsy but the store no longer has these. I’ll have to look for them again somewhere else. They are adorable.

If you follow my blog, you might be wondering if Em’s Watson bralette fit her.

Was it Bow-Worthy?

Em’s Watson fit her perfectly. However, it will remain bow-less.

Em said she wasn’t going to take it off after trying it on. She said it was more comfortable than the very-well-known-big-name bralette she’d been wearing! That made me feel really good. We already have her next one in the planning. Not only that, but now her Mom wants one too. However, before Em or her Mom get a bralette, I have some bra drafting/sewing to do for me.

Happy Creating!

Another Two Canada Bags

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

My Canada 150 bag made a bit of an impression. In fact, my original bag is now residing in California, USA with a Canadian woman. I think everyone will know she’s a Canadian now.

I’m going to be making another one for myself soon – it’s all cut out on my cutting table.

However, before I got to sewing my own, I had a special request from my son’s girlfriend. She has some really dear friends in Colombia who just happen to love her, her family, Canada, and all things Canadian. Could I please make two more bags? I couldn’t refuse.

Canada Bag Version Two

I don’t like doing the same thing twice, so I wanted to mix things up a bit. These bags may all be similar, but each is unique. That was just what Em wanted for her friends too.

Here’s the front of Version Two:

I’m still using the Emmaline Bags’ free Miss Maggie pattern. I’ve used the Long John strap anchors, attached a bit of bling – the Handmade tag – and cut out a red leather maple leaf.  Since this bag has the Long John strap anchors, I decided to reduce the size of the maple leaf by 20%. This bag also has the side snaps to bring it in and give it a defined shape, a magnetic snap closure and bag feet.

Here’s the back of the bag. It has a divided slip pocket going across the back of the bag, and some fun Canadian quiz material.

The inside of the bag is the same for both bags. Off white material with red maple leafs, and a slip pocket.

I used the lining material to make the straps as well. I just couldn’t resist those maple leafs! Em told me these women are Colombian and like lots  of color and bright things, so that helped me decide to make one set of straps brighter.

Canada Bag Version Three

Here’s the third Canadian Miss Maggie from the front:

  I really like this one! For this bag, I wanted it to look different so I used the pattern instructions to add a seam in the front, and used that to feature both of the materials I was using. I also added a red leather maple leaf at 100%, a brass Sewn label, the Diamond strap anchors, added a magnetic snap closure, and bag feet.

I made a mistake attaching these anchors. I didn’t know it, but I was coming down with a doozy of a summer cold. So what did I do? I placed the pattern piece upside down when I was marking where the anchors were to go! As a result, I struggled a bit to get them in, and then really had to fight to top stitch around them. I’m not thrilled. However, they’re in the bag, and there’s no moving them.

Here’s the back of Version Three.

You can see on the sides, I’ve added the snaps to the side of this bag as well, but have left them unsnapped. I want the bags to both have their own unique look when they arrive at their destination.

 I hope they’re both loved and cherished.

Along with a fourth Canada 150 bag, I’m back to drafting again this week. I’m really looking forward to it.

Happy creating!

Canada 150 — In the Emmaline Bags Bag

~ Michelle ~ 71 Comments

Welcome to my stop on the Canada 150 — In the Bag tour.

This tour is a bag-making, bag designer, bag supplier tour, so by my title, you may have guessed I’m featuring a bag from Emmaline Bags.

Most of the bag patterns shown on our tour were donated to the bloggers by the designers. You will be able to buy them, and maybe even win one. (I’ll be giving away a pattern on June 10th, so keep checking in.)

Here are all our sponsors, but some of these are our Designers too. (At the end of this post there are links to all of our sponsors & designers)

All of our Designers offer great patterns you can purchase, however, I really wanted to show there are free options out there. We are celebrating after all!

The bag I’ve chosen is a pattern from Emmaline Bags – and it is free. In fact, the additions I’ve made to it are all from Emmaline Bags’ blog, so they’re free too. Well, you do have to buy your materials and hardware…

Here’s the pattern I made:

Isn’t that lovely? I’ve been admiring the Miss Maggie’s Handbag since it came out, and dreaming of a leather Miss Maggie. However, I found some perfect fabrics I wanted to use for my Canada 150 bag.

Here’s my Miss Maggie’s Handbag:

Oh, I love it! The material I used for this was created to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday this July 1st. This is Stonehenge Oh Canada by Northcott. I’m including a link for the fabrics just in case you love it too. Being Canadian, I was able to find this at my local quilting shop.

Here’s the back view of my bag:

Nice hardware, eh? Yup. I really do love this bag.

Pockets

The bag is lovely all on it’s own, but I wanted to add a few things. The first thing I added was a zipper pocket inside the bag.

This zipper pocket is the perfect size.

Here’s the tutorial for adding a zipper pocket to a bag.

SEW AN EASY ZIPPER POCKET METHOD 1- A TUTORIAL.

Janelle (owner of Emmaline Bags) says, ‘Everyone needs an internal zipper pocket in their purse or handbag…’ I felt the same way. I love to have a zippered pocket to keep things tucked away and safe. This tutorial was easy too. I had no problems with it whatsoever.

The fabrics I used for the inside of the bag are both special edition fabrics that were created just for Canada’s 150th. The maple leafs (part of the Canadian Sesquicentennial Collection by Northcott) inspired my maple leaf on the front of my bag, and the Canadiana quiz material (same collection as the maple leafs) was just too fun not to use.

More Pockets

The bag comes with one slip pocket included in the pattern.

That pocket is perfect for a cell phone, or anything else you want to keep separate in your bag. I’m thinking my cell and sunglasses!

You can also see in of all of these pocket photos that I’ve added a magnetic clasp for a closure. This closure is what the pattern suggests, and Janelle has a tutorial for that too.

How to Install a Magnetic Snap Closure

Janelle has some really great tips in this tutorial to keep that snap tightly secured, and I followed them.

Bling Bling

I had to add some bling to my bag.

Who could resist a Sewn label? Not me. Anyone who sees my bag will know it’s an original and handcrafted.

The Long John Strap Anchors, the handmade hanging metal tag, and the leather tassel are more bling. Well, the strap anchors are rather practical in that they attach the straps to the bag, but they definitely bring the bling factor.

So much more love!

To make my tassel, it was back to Emmaline Bags’ blog for another tutorial.

HOW TO MAKE A TASSEL: AN EASY BAG MAKING TUTORIAL.

I had so much fun making my tassel. It was extremely satisfying. Leather is so lovely to use. The leather I used for my tassel was from a second-hand score. A box of leather samples and a few other things for $5.

As well as making the tassel from my upcycled leather, I also made a gorgeous Maple leaf – the symbol on Canada’s flag.

Over the top love!

 All the beautiful bling I bought (commonly called hardware) came from Emmaline Bags’ online store. Unfortunately, it’s not free. But you do have a chance to win some.

Hardware Tip & More

In the Miss Maggie pattern, it’s suggested to keep the plastic protective covering on your hardware while you sew your bag. That makes a lot of sense, but some of my hardware didn’t come with plastic on it.

I used some Press & Seal to cover my hardware during the sewing process and it worked perfectly!

There were no scratches to any of my hardware this way. Not only does Beverly Johnson (The Fairy Bra Mother) tell us how to clone a bra with Press & Seal, but now I can see another great reason why we all need this in our sewing rooms! You can see I started by covering my hardware with a bit of felt. The Press & Seal was faster and no pins.

I have one more little tip for you. To attach the magnetic clasp, I needed double-sided fusible interfacing. I know I had some, but I could not find it anywhere. I happen to have lots of single sided interfacing though and more than one sewing machine.

I sewed a strip of interfacing together with the glue sides out. It worked perfectly under the magnetic closure.

How to Win

For my give-away in the Canada 150 – It’s in the Bag tour, I’m giving away a PDF pattern from Emmaline Bags.

Comment on my post about your biggest sewing failure for a chance to win. Marsha (Seam of my Pants) has already picked the winning post number for me. All you have to do is post. The winner will be announced on the 10th.

As well, on the 10th I’ll be sharing my project that didn’t work out for this tour.

Enjoy the rest of our tour.

Happy 150th Canada!

&

Happy creating!

Each blog has an exclusive giveaway, so be sure to visit them all.

Tour Discounts

  • 10% off!
    Tangled Blossoms Design     is offering 10% off anything in stock for the duration of the tour. Offer expires June 10, 2017. Use discount code HAPPYBIRTHDAYCANADA
  • 15% off!
    Bringberry Handbag Hardware and Design     is offering 15% off anything in stock for the duration of the tour. Offer expires June 10, 2017. Use discount code LOVECANADA150

Tour Stops

(These links will be active on and after the day they are scheduled.)

June 4

Emmaline Bags

June 5

Tangled Blossoms Design ◊ With Love in Every Stitch ◊ Happy Okapi

June 6

Michelle’s Creations ◊ Barabooboo ◊ Soca Sewing

June 7

Glitter in my Coffee ◊ Michelle’s Creations ◊ Seam of my Pants

June 8

Seam of my Pants ◊ Creative Roots Sewing ◊ Happy Okapi

June 9

Seam of my Pants

June 10

Giveaway ends at midnight EDT (North America)

July 1

CANADA DAY 150

Giveaway Prizes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please join us in thanking our tour sponsors by visiting their websites.

* Jewellery is the Canadian spelling.

The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour

~ Michelle ~ 191 Comments

Craftsy 1200x627_social

Welcome to my stop on The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour! Our tour is made up of Canadian Bloggers, hence the name The Great Canadian… Only in Canada you say? Pity! Well, no, not really. We’re all in Canada, but you can join the tour from anywhere in the world! Sit back and enjoy – no tariffs, no shipping costs, no exchange rates. (Oh, Canadians know about exchange rates!)

Making handbags is something I’d wanted to do for a long time. After hearing of Craftsy, and signing up for my first class with them, I was hooked. I think my first class was Fab Felt Holiday Crafts with Betz White (you’ll see more of Betz on this tour), followed quickly by Design Your Own Handbag with Brett Bara. Brett’s class was the first of many handbag classes I’ve taken on Craftsy. With Craftsy, I’ve found a great learning platform, and I keep going back for more. I love that the classes I purchase are there for me anytime I want to access them, and never expire.

This year I became an Affiliate with Craftsy. On the right side of my blog, you’ll see some links to a few of my favorite classes, including the class I’m reviewing here (which Craftsy very graciously gave me to review for this tour). This list is by no means an exhaustive list, but just a few favorites. I can recommend these classes with confidence as I’ve taken them.

For my part in The Great Canadian Blog Tour, I’m reviewing Janelle MacKay’s class Mix & Match Clutch Bag Techniques.

titleCard

Janelle is a wonderful instructor. She’s very thorough, but without that rushed feeling we can get from having too much information thrown at us. She calmly takes us through each step, all the while giving us so many details of what we need to do, and options to change things up.

Janelle is composed in front of the camera. She definitely knows her material. Her knowledge and warmth come through on the question board too. She’s interacting with participants, telling them she loves the material they’ve chosen, encouraging when someone posts a question and figures out the answer on their own.

The class was a good pace for me. I’m not an overly experienced bag-maker, and I felt very comfortable with the pace of Janelle’s class.

Craftsy rates this class for an Intermediate skill level, and I would agree with that. There are some techniques that aren’t hard, but have a lot of steps that might be a challenge to a beginner sewist. I have read lots of comments on forums where people said how much they learned taking this class, and all the new tips they didn’t know before. There are tips in the class that can be used in any sewing. I loved how Janelle showed us how to deal with thread ends, and how she attached zippers. Both of these, and many more of the tips she shares can be transferred to non-bag-making sewing projects too.

The only difficulty I had with the class was having to draw out some of the pattern pieces. I need all the pattern pieces – even the ones that are simply a rectangle with the measurements given. I have some trouble with numbers. So for me, to have to draw out a rectangle piece… well, it’s a challenge. I have to look at the numbers, check them again, and then again to make sure I have them right in my head. Then a few more times because they can easily get mixed up in my head. It took me three tries to get those simple rectangles. I’m not talking just getting the numbers right, I’m talking drawing out those pieces. (Sigh) Now to be fair, I’ve read many comments on some of those same forums where others have said they hate to see something so simple included in patterns. For me, this is not so simple. I did get it done, and now going forward, I have all my pattern pieces cut out and labeled so I won’t have the same trouble.

Reece, of Happy Okapi, just reviewed the class Sew Sturdy Travel Organizers. One of the comments from Reece was there were no pattern pieces included with that class. Right away, I know it won’t be a class I want to take. Drawing out all the pieces would put me off before I started.

Back to things I love about this class. Here’s my clutch bag:

purse on cutting board

Oh, pretty, pretty. The inside of the bag is as beautiful as the outside. There’s a card slot that holds three cards, and a deeper pocket behind it. There’s a lipstick holder. There’s also a beautifully finished zippered pocket.

inside empty

Here’s the inside with a few basics in it. Sunglasses, keys, a few credit cards, lipstick. The red card is in sideways to show the deeper pocket behind the card slots. I didn’t even need to put anything in the zippered pocket. There’s lots of room in this little clutch! Look how pretty the zippered pocket is too. Janelle takes us through all the steps to make a beautiful, professional-looking finish on everything – inside and out. Here’s a confession: I thought the inside of the bag was so pretty, I took photos to send to a few friends before the bag was done. It looked so nice.

inside purse

pocket

Here’s the clutch on my dress form (Catherine) so you can see the size.

purse on Catherine

It’s a beautiful size and shape. For my first clutch, I chose a fairly basic design. If you look at the Craftsy image for Janelle’s class (above), you can see there are a few different options for the front of the bag, and for the flap. The variety offered is very nice.

One more comment on this clutch bag – I followed the Craftsy course alone to make this. I did use the pattern pieces that came with the instructions, but the class is so very thorough, a bag can be made following along with class instruction alone. It’s a really great class. I definitely recommend Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques by Janelle MacKay, and I can’t wait to make another clutch bag.

Thanks for joining me on this stop of The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour. The next stop is: 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags with Fiona of Tangled Blossoms Design. If you’ve missed any of the reviews or stops along the tour, here’s the full listing of them:

Tour Dates

Monday, April 4

Seam of my Pants — Bag-Making Basics: Reversible Tote & Zipper Pouch with Kristin Link and Learn to Sew: Simple Bags with Nicole Vasbinder

Tuesday, April 5

Sprouting JubeJube — Sew Sturdy: Home Organizers with Annie Unrein

Lulu & Celeste — Sewing With Oilcloth: Bags & Baskets with Kathy McGee

Wednesday, April 6

Happy Okapi — Sew Sturdy Travel Organizers with Annie Unrein

Thursday, April 7

Michelle’s Creations — Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques with Janelle MacKay

Friday, April 8

Shelaine’s Designs — Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel with Betz White

Tangled Blossom Designs — 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags with Lisa Lam

Saturday, April 9

Emmaline Bags — Recap/Roundup

Sunday, April 10

Sur “prizes“

Our tour has some amazing sponsors! Craftsy. Emmaline Bags. (Emmaline Bags donated the hardware for my gorgeous clutch) Tangled Blossoms Design. Blue Calla. Sprouting Jube Jube. Lulu & Celeste. Happy Okapi. Seam of my Pants. Thanks to all of our sponsors for generously providing prizes for the tour. You’ll have to wait until Sunday, April 10th to find out more about those. So make sure you come back on Sunday to find out what they are and how you can enter for your chance to win!

Prize Sponsors

Happy creating!

Please note, all contest links have been disabled as the contest is now over.

Announcing The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour

~ Michelle

Craftsy bag tour image b

The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour starts today! Just what is the GCCBT? To sum it up, we’re all Canadian bloggers, we all sew, we all love Craftsy, we all reviewed some of the bag-making classes on Craftsy, and we put it all together for you to read over the next week.

The whole time the tour was being put together, I keep remembering an old television ad for Red Rose Tea: “Only in Canada you say? Pity.” Well, the bloggers all may be in Canada, but you can read along from anywhere in the world with no duties, tariffs, or shipping costs.

Head over to Emmaline Bags to start the tour today. And join us every day for the next week on our tour. It’s going to be fun, informative, there are prizes, and discounts too!

Happy creating!