Back to work

I've been quiet again, and my excuse this time is partly due to more holidays, but also because I have been renovating like a maniac.  I have a bit of an exciting project underway at the moment which I will be able to tell more about in the coming months, but it involves giving the sewing studio a BIG makeover.  Gone are the hideous blue and yellow walls and floral curtains.  Goodbye nasty mottled carpet.  A fresh coat of paint and new curtains are in and over the next couple of weeks the new flooring will go in.  I don't have a lot of money to splash around though so there will be less renovation and more innovation I think.  One thing I am considering is the ugly fluorescent lighting in there.  The studio has some good natural light in the early part of the day but those bright lights are essential for late afternoons and evenings when you are hunched over a needle.  So instead of removing them I am considering concealing them with some kind of creative disguise.  Like this - the Polish paper chandeliers they call Pajaki.  There are so many possibilities to be creative here so I don't intend to stick to tradition at all.  Only thing is I have to make mine rectangular to fit the fluoro tubes.  I can see I'm going to have fun with this  :)

Add a zip to a bag

Every now and then someone asks me if one of my bag patterns has a zip closure.  I've made my patterns as simple as possible for the beginner but they are easily upgraded for those ready for the challenge of zips.  Here is a great tutorial from Pattern Pile that shows you how to add a zip to a bag that otherwise didn't have a closure in the pattern.  And it's free!  Yay!

http://patternpile.com/sewing-patterns/sewing-a-zipper-into-a-bag-free-tutorial/

Of course, if you're doing the Sling Tote I think the easiest way of adding a zip would be to make the Sling Bag first and then pin the zip directly udner the top seams of the bag and stitch into place with the zip unzipped.