The Ultimate Carry Bag ( Designed by Natalie Patton- Quiltessa)

I wanted to write a blog on how I am making this Caddy from a fairly novice sewer’s point of view.

Making the Ultimate Carry all bag (UCAB)- Intoduction

Not being very confident with my sewing abilities,( only been using commercial patterns and a sewing machine for a couple of years), I saw a member of my Facebook group ‘Junk Journaling for Everyone’ had made this caddy. I liked the idea it had a heat resistant fabric for ironing at the front, and my group member had used a small cutting mat there too.

Great I thought, I’ll have a go!

Two more of my group Admins decided they would take part too,( one who was maybe more of a beginner than myself, and the other who owned a sewing machine like a space craft).

We asked if the group members would like to take part in the event, but they didn’t feel their sewing skills were up to it. How hard can it really be I thought?!

(Link to my Junk Journalling Facebook group:)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/337978000796519/?ref=share

We purchased the PDF pattern from Etsy, link here:

http://etsy.me/2kPa156

This is the link to Natalie’s first video. You should be able to find the others from here:

https://youtu.be/n1QnTwlJEx4

After printing out 28 pages, and the last one showing the only pattern piece I could see, I suddenly came to the realisation that maybe it was going to be a little beyond my sewing skills.

I saw that there were also numbered video ( tutorials?) that went with it, so I gave a little sigh of relief.

I watched them, and although Natalie herself produces such beautiful results with the ease of a magician, I realised that my basic skills were not up to the task of understanding the bare minimum of what was being shown.

So, I decided to go through step by step from the beginning of the pattern ( converting inches into metric measurements), and actually cutting out a paper pattern for each piece needed. I know most pieces were just rectangles of fabric, but trust me, this really was much easier than measuring and marking on the actual fabric. It also helped me slightly more to see what I’d be working with. At this point, it wasn’t really clear to me whether some of the pieces were supposed to be cut vertically or horizontally to the fabric pattern design ( or nap).

I printed out the pattern piece provided ( which is the side panel piece of the bag). I printed it out on three A4 sheets of paper and stuck them together. I had to guesstimate the sizes as my printer doesn’t print to those exact measurements ( so this might be tricky for others too), but finally managed to get the pieces more or less to what was given.

I was using used curtains I purchased off eBay that had a design on, so I would suggest that using a plain fabric would be the way to go if you are a complete beginner. My friend Suzanne decided to use denim for her exterior fabric which I thought was a great idea, as it had no pattern and is very durable.

This is what I ended up with:

Lots of pattern pieces all labelled up, and ready to go!