The Sew and Tell Project

This is my middle daughter AKA Middle Miss. She is filled with spunk and whimsy and is probably my greatest enabler when it comes to sewing. When she was a toddler she would wander into my fabric cabinet and ask me to make her a “pwetty dwess.” She still LOVES to give me inspiration pictures and shop for fabric with me, but as I’ve started to have more children and more demands on my time, she doesn’t always get exactly what she wants when she wants it.

However, her birthday is this week and I knew she needed some one-on-one time with Mom. When Jodi released the Mic Drop Tote last week, I knew I had to sew it right away. I even had magnetic snaps in my stash even though I am not a “bag sewist.” I really wanted to jump right in and make one for me but I have had to put my machine in time out for a few weeks while we kick off our home school year.

I printed the pattern pieces off at 60% for my tall little girl, and got them all cut out and marked and even got the snaps out. I left two sets of snaps out ready to sew yesterday.

And then this happened when I went to bring my supplies to the sewing table.

My pirate son thought they were gold coins or something and they disappeared into the abyss of a toy room. I had all my kids searching for the remaining parts to no avail. Luckily they appeared in my daughter’s piano tote bag during her piano lesson this morning so at least I’ll have hardware for my bag which I hope to make in a few weeks. I just used a KAM snap as a closure which is working well enough but it doesn’t give that satisfying “click” that a nice magnetic snap does!

My middle daughter has impeccable taste in fabric. She chose my Michael Miller Summer Night Lights fabric that I had been saving to make another gorgeous border dress. Because the print has a double border, I have plenty left over to make her a matching dress soon.. I did most of the sewing of the bag, but I did get some help from her with marking and ironing.

If you want to make your own for a child using this print, I would recommend scaling it up just a little bit further to make sure you get all the image you want. I had to puzzle the pieces a couple of times to get as much as I could of the print, but the little boy’s bug jar is still cut off.

I am so glad I did the extra step of applying the piping. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter has been watching me sew since she was a toddler. I heard her tell her grandparents today about the piping and snaps – little details that are often lost on people who don’t know how to sew. Perhaps this will become her hobby some day, too!

I found the pattern easy enough for a beginner or even just an intermediate sewist who is scared of sewing bags (like myself). I cut out all the pieces and marked them in about 30 minutes, and then let them sit for a day. Piecing probably took an hour and I found the tutorial very easy to follow. The marked pieces lined up perfectly. I did get stuck in the advanced handle finishing method in the tutorial but Jodi has a helpful video uploaded on her Facebook page. I was so eager to watch it magically come together that I forgot to clip one edge of my handle!

I am so glad that I took the time to learn to do something new. I can’t wait to make one for myself now that I’ve made a totally lovable and usable “muslin” for my 8 year old.

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