Stash and Dash Bag Sew Along (Days 6-10)

Welcome back to Round 2 of my recap of the Stash and Dash bag Summer Sew Along!

In the detailed Sew Along posts on Annie's Blog, the first 10 steps are now done.  So, I'm going to link each section back to her original post, and I will give you my running commentary on this page.  Please remember that my comments are MINE. You've probably seen the disclaimer on TV saying views expressed on this show may not reflect the views of the producers or whatever blah blah blah. The same thing applies here. If I do something differently, that's fine. It is what works for me, and your mileage may vary too. :)

Make the Strap Closure

(Go here for Annie's post)

As I mentioned in the first post, I love my tube turning set from Fasturn.  It's a little bit different from the one that Annie uses, but the general idea is the same. Why do I love this set?  The tubes are copper and sturdy.  There are 5 different sizes to choose from to make a tubes including a super skinny tube for making spaghetti straps for garments.  It comes in a hard plastic case for easy storage.

The other thing that I want to really note about this step is after you have the strapping/webbing fed into the tube, you want to turn the fabric back into the tube itself as you can see in my picture.

Prepare the Zippers

(Go here for Annie's post)

I think Annie's post pretty much sums it up perfectly.  I use a lot of handbag zippers with my projects, and I will often buy a longer zipper (plus extra pulls) than needed and cut it into several pieces.  While I haven't seen it as often as with other products (thread, yarn, fabric,etc), I would rather have a single item to use throughout a project instead of having to deal with potentially different dye lots.

I also have a few colors of zippers that tend to be my go to colors, so I find it to be more economical to purchase the Zippers by the Yard set from Annie's website.  That way I can cut my zippers to the appropriate lengths for each project.  With 4 yards of zipper tape and 16 pulls included in the package,  I can almost always make multiple projects from one (the A Place for Everything bag is the big exception to this for me).

Bind the Inner Mesh Pockets

(Go here for Annie's post)

I don't have much to really add to this section other than the fact that I love Clover Wonder Clips.

Attach the Mesh Pockets to the Zippers

(Go here for Annie's post)

I love Annie's tip for using basting tape.  The only thing that I do differently is to use Wonder Tape instead of basting tape.  Why Wonder Tape?  It can be removed with water, and I find that it gums up the needle less than basting tape because it's less sticky.  Any sticky stuff on the needle is easy to clean off (I normally will wipe it off with a little bit of rubbing alcohol).

Bind the Top of Each Zipper

(Go here for Annie's post)

Another great post.  The only thing that I really do differently is to attach the binding to the right (front) side of the zipper instead of from the back.  I feel like I get a more even edge that way.

So, that's it for me on part two of my recap (days 6-10 of the Sew Along).  How are you feeling?  I hope you are having fun with this super fantastic little bag.  I know that I have.  I love them so much that I've already made 3 (as of when I'm writing this post), and I have 4 more to make as gifts.

If you haven't done so, be sure to head over to Annie's blog and snag a copy of the free pattern (before October 1).  While you're there, check out the official Sew Along posts.  I'll be back in a few days again with more comments from the peanut gallery!