Camp Stitchalot in Rapture

Thanks to Snowmaggedon round 17,  I was able to get some sewing done this weekend, most notably,  a Camp Stitchalot Bag in Pat Bravo's Rapture line. I was honored to be asked to make a few shop samples for Pink Castle Fabrics showing how quilting cottons could be used for more than just quilting, specifically using some Sew Sweetness bag patterns. The first project, is a Camp Stitchalot bag in Rapture.  I fell in love with Rapture the second I pulled these prints from the box...pictures do not do these beauties justice, the colors are so vibrant and the prints are just gorgeous.

 The Camp Stitchalot is designed to be an artist's tote, and has tons of pockets and spaces for whatever tools you need for your craft. The exterior has a front pocket with a magnetic snap closure, the exterior has three separate slip pockets that are secured with a flap and magnetic snap.

 

 The inside has 2 slip pockets on the lining panels and 4 zippered vinyl pockets, these can easily be made into divided pockets for more storage space. Imagine ALL the goodies you can stuff into this bag!

The construction of this bag is very straight forward and isn't complicated to put together. However, all the layers does add a bit of difficulty to it. This was my first time using By Annie's Soft and Stable (I usually substitute headliner fabric) and it was really, really nice to work with. The only trouble I had was that it's just a tad thicker than the headliner and I found that I really needed to use my walking foot when top stitching to keep it from getting all wonky. The vinyl was a bit tricky but honestly was much easier to work with than I had expected. Surprisingly,  I didn't need my walking foot to sew it at all. The trickest part was sewing through all 4 vinyl pockets and the lining., for that I had to employ both my walking foot and a leather needle (I think my machine laughed at me when I attempted it with a denim needle).

I ended up finishing the binding by hand, as I was afraid of my machine not cooperating going through all those layers and stitching the bias tape on neatly. I finished it while watching last night's episode of The Walking Dead. If you watch the show, then you'll understand that I NEED to have something in my hands to keep my nerves in check.

 I normally don't like repetition, I don't like sewing the same things over and over and I don't like using the same fabrics over again. However, these fabrics have me completely smitten. I absolutely will be using them again!

Maybe if I keep using these bright fabrics, I can will spring to make an appearance sometime in 2014!

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