Appleton Dance

  by Linda Theil A cute bag kept popping up on my Internet feed that looked a lot like Diane Spencer-Ogg's "Arch Zipper Pouch" pattern with a lot of extra bells and whistles. Having made so many of this brilliant pattern (see list below) , I challenged myself to create a Fat Archie to rival the manufactured bag I admired. What I ended up with was a kind of small backpack, bowler-style bag of no great distinction -- but amusing and satisfying to work on. I designed my Fat Archie using J. Wecker Frisch's "Mad Masquerade" for Riley Blake Designs published in 2022. I originally bought the fabric to make a tote for a friend who is a fan of John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland drawings. The fabric featured several large panels that I could use for all the extra pockets. The base and zipper gusset are made from Mora faux leather from Emmaline Bags . The finished size of this bag is 11 x 10 x 3.5-inches. I will describe how I created Fat Archie, but since the pro...

"Daily Essential Pouch" top by Linda Theil I have always admired Minki Kim's beautiful videos of her elegant designs, but felt intimidated by the magnificent precision of her sewing. I have purchased a few of her patterns, but had not tried making one until I bought her pre-printed panel that produced a simple backpack, and had some success with it. Please see my post "Minki Kim pre-printed panel" on AppletonDance.  I saw Minki Kim's video about a darling little box that she calls the "Daily Essential Pouch" and bought the PDF pattern. When Alisa needed a container for Emerson's birthday gift, we thought this 7 x 5 x 2-inch zippered box would fill the bill. Daily Essential Pouch top For the quilted exterior I chose "Kirtland Warbler" , a discontinued Charlie Harper licensed fabric published by Birch Fabrics. This fabric was part of Birch's second volume of illustrations that Charlie Harper created for the Ford Times magazine....

by Linda Theil To add to my collection of recycled advertising packages, I made a sling out of the muslin bag that Zingerman's Bakehouse in Ann Arbor used to package their holiday stollen. The bag was just the right size to fit my well-tested "Sandhill Sling" by Noodlehead Sewing Patterns; but since I had just purchased a similarly sized "Triple Sling Bag" by Kandou Patterns, I thought I'd give that pattern a try instead. All the Kandou patterns that I've tried have been well-written and beautifully designed, and this "Triple Sling" was no exception. I made a minor change to the pattern by inserting the strap directly into the top strap-connector, instead of using the rectangle ring prescribed in the pattern since the additional hardware seemed superflous to me. I could have substituted a D-ring and an extra swivel-hook on the strap to make a detachable strap, but I wanted to reduce the weight of the bag, not increase it. I didn't have a ma...