Designer handmade niche spray-painted metallic sequined hand shoulder bag.

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I've been suffering from a creative block... I want to make 1000 things but can't decide which I should do first. I've been slowly working away at a commission, but even that is going at a snail's pace plus I need daylight to work on that.

Anyway, I want to work on a couple of bags and decided to start with this pumpkin one! A pumpkin is obviously connected to Halloween but also gives general autumn vibes in my opinion.

I'm using fabric scraps from my mum for this bag. She gives me free reign over her leftovers from her sewing (she's glad when I use up the fabric). She's got this nice orange fleece and an orange organza with silver spiderwebs (perfect for Halloween!). I'm making one spiderweb-y and one plain pumpkin side, so the bag is a bit more versatile.

The yellow fabric I've used as a lining is a fabric scrap a friend gave me some years ago. When people know you like to sew fabric will find it's way to you! Between the outer fabric and lining is a layer of quilting batting. This (in addition to the fleece) gives the pumpkin some dimension.

I've zigzagged the edges to make the next steps in sewing easier. I need to sew side strips to the two pumpkin sides and don't want the fabric shifting around on me. I'll probably bind it with orange bias tape afterwards to finish everything off nicely.

Evidently I was not fully coherent while making this bag. Well I made some silly mistakes at least. I carefully stitched on the zipper backwards (so the lining side is the nice side) and really didn't feel like seam ripping all those painstaking stitches now the top part of the pumpkin bag has the lining on the outside. Just imagine I've cut that open and you can see the innards!

The thread also kept snapping on me. That's either a sign of too high tension or faulty thread. I suspect the problem lies with the thread and that I folded the fabric over to attach the zipper and it became very thick. When I make a similar bag with thick layers I won't fold the fabric in but sew bias tape over the edge that faces the zipper. Makes for a thinner and easier to sew fabric.

New bag & embroidery design inspired the the Two headed calf poem by Laura Gilpin 🐮🎀 online now!

Designer pearlescent shiny bear print silk large shopping shoulder bag.

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I've finished the pumpkin bag just in time to take pictures at it's natural habitat: the pumpkin farm kingdom!