bend the rules Sewing Part 2

I tried out three of the projects from the Amy Karol book bend the rules Sewing. I think I finally figured out what she means by bend the rules. In sewing we are taught to cut out all the pieces to measure the exact size of the pattern plus some pre-determined seam allownace. Two of the three of the projects I tried had you draw the sewing line on the chunk of fabric, sew along it, trim and turn and voila, the project was essentially complete. Definitely bending the rules!

The 'Charming Purse' was a little tricky in that some precision was needed in putting it together. I used some thrift store fabric which was a medium weight upholstery type and lined it with a piece of fabric that I cut out of another thrift store find. It is about 8" by12" and is the perfect size for a hardcover novel. I added a pocket in the interior to hold my cel phone but, in the end, it turned out to be the perfect size for another project - the 'No Cash Wallet'. The 'No Cash Wallet' took about 15 minutes to make from copying the pattern to sewing on the velcro. This pattern is one where it is recommended that you draw the sewing line, sew then trim down the fabric to the right size. Same fabric as the purse exterior and pocket. The instructions call for a snap and a buton to cover the snap but I prefer Velcro. Maybe I will find a button or pin to embellish it later on because it is rather plain. It is perfect for holding credit cards! Both the purse and card case leave lots of room for embellishment and fabric manipulation to dress them up.

The third project I tried was the baby bib as it seemed the whole world was addicted to them. It took about 5 minutes to make as it uses the sew then trim method of construction. Again I used Velcro rather than a snap. The fabric is a left over from the St. Jude hospital quilts I made a couple of years ago. I used a piece of Minky for the back side so its really soft. I might adapt this method to produce some bibs for the ASG project. The only difference would be that the ASG project requires a pocket at the bottom of the bib. At this kind of speed I should be able to turn out quite a few before the deadline on Saturday.

My final evaluaion of the book is a B - It does have neat projects but there were several irritations. I have yet to find measurements for the strap for the purse which is minor but Amy keeps calling an interlining a facing. A facing finishes the edges of a garment but interlining is an additional layer between the fashion fabric and the lining of a garment like the batting in a quilt. I kept looking for addtional pattern pieces for facings. What a pain!