More Walmart Fabric Finds

All of the pictured fabric is from Walmart. The majority of it is home decor weight that could be used for bags. My comments don't necessarily follow the pictures. Mixed in the home dec stuff is a paisley cotton and a Missoni knit. Since I’m terrified of knits, the Missoni stuff will probably sit for a while.

My favorite piece might be the purple imitation suede with the words Texuede Nurture embossed on the wrong side. I found it hidden behind the fat upright bolts of upholstery fabric. A scant yard and a quarter, it had slipped out of view. My digging payed off. It is fabulously soft and brilliantly colored. The pictures don’t do it justice.

Again, difficult to capture with a camera (or perhaps my photography skills), there’s a copper, semi-metallic fabric in the mix. This material is fairly stiff, so it will be good for bags.

The brown, suede-ish fabric kind of feels like velveteen. It’s soft enough to go either way, apparel or accessory.

I couldn't pass up the embossed pleather. It's fun.

Then there’s the remnant of olive drab PVC destined to be a purse, and lastly, more of the yellow pleather. Since it lent itself well to the LaRue bag I’ve become rather partial to it.

Inexpensive Purse Making Supplies

Never underestimate the dollar store (Dollar Tree in this case) or Walmart's clearance isle. This is just what I needed to finish off my LaRue Messenger Bag. Three bucks total and some nylon webbing to add to the stash.

La Rue Messenger Bag

This was my weekend (mostly Sunday) project. I've been wanting to make this bag for a while, and since I had some Walmart pleather on hand I decided to go forward. This is my first time sewing with pleather, so I looked at this project as an experiment. The bag is an unusual color. I didn't have anything at home that would work, colorwise, for lining. I returned to Walmart hoping to score an inexpensive cut of fabric that would do. No such luck. Well, I actually found a fabric on their $2 table that matched perfectly, but it was hideous. Not wanting to drive into K-town, I rambled on over to Hobby Lobby. After pacing their fabric department isles several times, I decided on a beautiful home dec tapestry. The lining fabric ended up costing more than the pleather, but I wasn't going to spend my time and gas searching further (besides, I loved the fabric).




Having done several hours worth of homework in reading reviews and board messages at Pattern Review, I started my project. Reading that the armhole binding is a nightmare, I decided to face the armholes instead. I made a quick practice piece to test the facing and get a feel for sewing on the material. The facing seemed like a satisfactory alternative. I'm pretty happy with the armhole finish, although the facing was a lot easier to deal with on the test piece, before the two sides of the bag were sewn together with the addition of the lining. There's probably an easier way to do this, but I was nearing analysis paralysis so I kept the project moving.






I didn't have the hardware I needed, but I managed to cannibalize some small d-rings from an old handbag. They're really too small, but Hobby Lobby and Walmart didn't have what I wanted, and I really didn't want to spend any more time driving around looking for supplies. The strap is on my to do list. I'm still debating on how I want to deal with that element. I'm hoping to have it figured out by the end of the week and I'll update when I reach that point.




I winged it on the tassel. It was actually pretty easy to make (thank God for rotary cutters). The embellishment at the top is simply a cleanly finished cylinder of the lining fabric, completely machine sewn. I drilled a hole in the center of a tortoise shell button and pulled the loop through. That concealed the top of the tassle nicely. A more decorative button or bead would work as well, but I used what I had on hand.





I've read several comments about the size of the bag. It's a good size for me, but it wouldn't be difficult to enlarge the pattern if you like a bigger purse. Because the bag isn't large, I decided to leave off the pocket. Pockets are handy to keep stuff from getting lost in a large bag, but I didn't see the need for them here. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the end result. I love this pattern because it's so unusual and accommodating. The final product can be highly embellished, starkly modern, or something in between. The possibilities are endless. No doubt, I'll be making more of these.

Eye Candy

I found the Rocketeer at the Salvation Army this past weekend. As it was in a nondescript closed cabinet, I almost missed it. Something told me to turn around and take a final survey of the store as I stood at the door ready to make my exit. As soon as I lifted the top of the cabinet, I knew what I had stumbled upon. It was clearly a yard sale reject. The owner conceded by unloading the large unwanted item at the thrift store. The machine is in very good condition and came with all of its original accessories and owner's manual. All for $30. So if you're looking for a cool vintage machine for cheap, don't give up. They're out there.

Building the Fabric Stash

I found these toiles at Walmart. The circus toile is by Schumacher and feels divine to the touch. The yellow and red toile is Central Park by P. Kaufmann. I bought two yards of the Schumacher and one yard of the Kaufmann. Both fabrics are 54" wide. I'm tempted to go back and buy the rest of the circus toile. I have absolutely no idea what I'll use it for, but it's so beautiful and at $5.54 a yard it's a steal.

Speaking of toile, I found this awesome artist/dollmaker, Mimi Kirchner, who uses toile on her doll's bodies to represent tatoos. Here's a story and pictures of Mimi's tatooed dolls found on Mr. Peacock's blog.



Adding to the pattern stash as well, I recently acquired this purse pattern by J. Stern Designs. With its clean lines, it should lend itself to all kinds of creative embellishment.



I've also downloaded and printed this wonderful free purse pattern from oh, fransson. Check out her fantastic tutorials too.

As you can see, I've been spending a lot of time surfing the net and no time creating. Sometimes my creative urges can be completely satisfied in the beauty and inspiration of other peoples work.

Poor Baby

Buster got stung by a wasp today. We had just walked outside into the yard when I noticed that he quickly pulled back on his right rear leg, and I then saw the wasp fly away. Immediately, I took him inside and gave him some Benedryl. The sedative effect is obvious. He's found a small sunspot and is chilling.

Cloth and Clay Doll

I'm making slow progress on the cloth and clay doll. Chuck stopped by a little while ago. Spotting my freshly gessoed doll drying on my kitchen island and suspecting my involvement in voodoo, he asked if there might be someone at work that I didn't like. He never fails to make me laugh.

Squares Galore

The squares are done. The strip piecing was sewn when I cut out the triangles. I cut it into squares yesterday. There should be enough for a good size quilt, but I haven't decided if what I'm going to do. Right now all those squares seem a little overwhelming.

To the right of the box of patchwork is the beginning of my cloth and clay doll project. I need to move on to the stuff'n...

Green Goodness

Unlike the past couple of years, we're getting a good amount of rain this year. Everything is green and lush. Chuck planted the vegetable and herb garden, and we will soon be overwhelmed with tomatatoes, cucumbers, and squash.