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Lost opportunities or "never meant to be"s? |
In case you missed it,
part one
was posted here in early March. Today's featured freebies are from old
Craftsy. Old as in before it became Bluprint and then back to (in name
only) Craftsy.
More specifically, these patterns were all downloads from the old marketplace
where indie designers like me sold our designs. It was an adventure to browse
on a weekly basis, picking out the gems and adding them to a personal account.
I always made it a point as soon as I found something to download it right
then and there. It was a practice not employed by many disappointed people
years later when the marketplace disappeared.
Unlike in part one, I can't guarantee these patterns can still be found online. (I will provide as much information as possible for you to find them if they are indeed findable.)
First one is called the Sunshiney Day Tote & Zip Pouch by
Melissa Peda. This one is still out there, as she still has her
website, 100BillionStars.com.
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| Image courtesy 100BillionStars.com... |
The bright fabric drew my attention at first, but the way the coordinating
pouch was made to hang from the handle of the bag was the main reason I saved
it. It's a worthwhile project to tackle to accessorize any tote bag
that you may have.
The pattern calls for the use of buckram to stabilize the lining.
Probably wouldn't have done that had I made the bag. (If the requirement was
so the tote could stand up, I would simply combine the fusible fleece with a
layer of Decor Bond.)
Second project is from Michelle Zoetemeyer, who named the pattern
after her initials: the Emzed Foldover Clutch Wallet (still
available from a Facebook group and from SewModernBags.com). I
was initially impressed by the fact that a pattern for such a fully featured
wallet was being given away for free.
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| Image courtesy of Michelle Zoetemeyer... |
I'm fairly sure I was intimidated by the project when I encountered it. Later,
I found that the
wallet that I was using
(that I had made in 2015 and is still my wallet today, although I rarely have
it on me) was pretty much as fully featured as I needed a wallet to be, so
there wasn't any particular need to pursue this one.
Sorta glad about that decision since most of the feedback that I've seen
about this pattern is that the instructions are not as clear as can be. (To
be fair, it's free.) I'm not going to add to that discussion
since I haven't made the thing, but for anyone wanting to do so, there is
now a lot of support out there by way of a Facebook group, primarily,
and various YouTube videos.
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| Image courtesy of Queenie Yap (via Facebook)... |
As with any decent design, free or paid, a certain following will develop
whereby crafters will make the item repeatedly. The
Facebook postings show some really nice looking wallets made by
people who have gotten really good at making them.
You've likely seen variants of these next two projects.
The first one is the Agne Coin Purse from designer
IThinkSew. (I made a
similar looking pouch
years ago out of a single long zipper.) She is a prolific designer of many,
many bags, two of which I have made:
Ollie
and
Seth.
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| Image courtesy of IThinkSew... |
The tutorial provides measurements for two finished sizes and is still
available via her website, IThinkSew.com.
The second one is called the Half Square Triangle Pouch by
Kanako Fukatani. I downloaded this one because I wanted to have a
pattern — probably for future reference — that featured a "continuous" zipper.
(You see how this was constructed with only one side of a zipper tape?)
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| Image courtesy of Kanako Fukatani... |
This pouch can be made with a zipper installed the normal way (like in the previous project), but you can definitely see how this technique produces a more polished, less bulky finish. Had I made either one of these little pouches, I would have used this single zipper tape method.
Unfortunately, this pattern is no longer free. It's now sold on Etsy in
Kanako's shop PatternsByKanako, albeit for one (US) dollar. (However —
just so you can't say that I've left you with no option but to pay a measly
dollar — Tendersmile Handmade on YouTube has a video for
a similar coin pouch from March 14, 2023 that uses this same single side
zipper tape technique.)
This last one is pretty cool looking and simple. It's a thread catcher by
lulu_luka. I saved this because I just liked it... particularly how the rolled edges
can be used to hold a seam ripper.
The bad news for you is that I haven't been able to find it anywhere online.
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| image courtesy of lulu_luka... |
That being said, you've probably seen similar triangular thread catcher
patterns that can be used to hack this one. It's really only a matter of
cutting the points away from the corners of the triangle, creating a
shallower tray in the process. (You know, for some reason, this project
still calls to me, even though I have a thread catcher that works quite well
and don't need another.)
Hope you enjoyed this second installment of projects I once thought I might
make, because there will likely be a part three in the coming months.
'Til next...
The triangle basket was shown on The Quilt Show some years ago. I'll look for a link.....wait😊
ReplyDeleteCan't paste a link ... perhaps you can type it in your address bar.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgHhes9jfGM
Variants of this basic design are widely available for reference. The link to the one that you provide is just one of many that has higher sides; i.e., is deeper.
DeleteI checked out the YouTube channel there and in another video she demonstrates an awesome way to sew with yarn. (Ironically, however, I didn't care for the final result, but it has possibilities.)