​Hi!  I’m Bree from My Crafty Crap over on Instagram and I’m excited to be sharing my thoughts today about On the Go Bags from C&T Publishing.  It was put together by the amazing Lindsay Conner (of Lindsay Sews) and Janelle MacKay (of Emmaline Bags) and includes projects from so many of my favorite designers.  

​I really like that the book includes a variety of projects that are divided by experience level.  I have actually had the book for a while now, and the cover bag is the main reason I picked it up in the first place, but I know I will make some of the other projects in the book as well.  I generally can’t justify buying craft books when I already have so many other patterns, but this is one I couldn’t pass up.  There are projects in all three levels (Easy, Intermediate, and Advanced) that I hope to make.  

I recommend doing a quick search for sew-alongs for book projects if you are intimidated by them.  Often times there will be additional tips and tricks that will help you with the more difficult parts.  I have found that due to limited space in books, instructions are sometimes not as thorough or have as many pictures as I am used to with stand-alone patterns.  That’s not saying craft books are not as good, just something to keep in mind and get use to.  Janelle and Lindsay both have multi-part sew along posts on their blogs for projects in this book (the Airport Sling and Sporty Strap Pack), and I’ve seen others too.  Make sure you check them out!

I was provided with an eBook version of my choice of books for this series, but decided to go with one I had already purchased in book form.  Personally I like to have physical copies of books/patterns rather than working from my phone or a tablet.  I find it much easier to flip through a book than a digital pattern, but I do love having the pdf versions of the pattern pieces.  Sometimes the physical books can be a pain to use though because they don’t lay nicely, and it’s annoying trying to keep your place in the book when you’re trying to figure out what you should be doing next.  To solve this problem, I took my book to a local print shop and had it spiral bound.  What a game changer!  It was relatively cheap (under $4.00) and worth every penny. 

The physical book includes one large pull-out pattern piece that is printed on both sides.  On the one hand, that can be annoying because it means you have to copy the pattern pieces in some way (through a print shop, tracing, etc), but that way you always have another copy in case something happens to the pattern piece you’re using (I saw a woman recently who was looking for replacement pattern pieces from a book because her pattern pieces had been “toddlerized.” I had to laugh because I knew exactly what she meant, but that’s the problem with only getting one copy of pattern pieces in a book).  The really nice thing about the pullout pattern pieces is that they are all one piece – no taping & matching lines!  The eBook version comes with pdf pattern pieces that must be taped together before cutting.  While not difficult, it does take extra time that I would generally much rather spend sewing.  There are also a lot of rotary cut pieces for all the projects.

The book starts out with an introduction by Lindsay and Janelle, followed by general techniques that apply to all/most of the patterns in the book and are just really good general project tips to apply to whatever you might be making.  There are also super handy tips & hints scattered throughout all the patterns in the book.  They are definitely helpful!

As I said, the Sporty Strap Pack on the cover was the reason I bought this book in the first place, so this review was my excuse to let it budge in line a bit & move to the top of my “To Make” list.  This pattern is the last one in the “intermediate” section, and in general isn’t a hard project, but the unique shape and construction do land it firmly in the intermediate section.  I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it came together (or would have, without my usual tendency to modify any pattern I make – more on that in a minute…), and was able to whip it up in less than a week of naptime sewing.  A week might sound like a long time, but when you consider in the time I spend chasing a toddler to keep her from coloring on E-V-E-R-Ything, it wasn’t bad at all. 😉

If you happen to know anything about me, you know two things – I love pockets and for the life of me I can’t follow a pattern as written.  It’s not necessarily that I can’t follow directions, I just always need to change something up, and pretty much always have to add pockets.  

For my bag, I chose to add the zip around pocket from the Airport Sling pattern in the “advanced” section.  This pocket is definitely the reason the Airport Sling is an advanced pattern, but it’s just such an awesome pocket!  It zips around the outside and has a pocket with card slots.  It’s like the Cadillac of pockets.

​The other change I made was to add a pocket to the strap.  This wasn’t something I planned on doing, it was pretty spur of the moment because I happened to have a perfect zipper for it and was feeling reckless, but it might be my favorite part now!  It ended up being not quite as functional as I had hoped after turning out the strap & top stitching (I did skip the second row of top stitching on the lower part of the strap to save as much space as possible), but it’s still perfect for chapstick, keys, or some change.

My only real complaint while working on this bag is that zippers are listed in the materials for what size to buy, but I wish it also gave the total zip length after the tabs are added in the pattern.  This may seem picky, but I don’t buy zippers specifically for certain projects, but just keep them on hand in a couple standard lengths & cut to size for what I need.  One part of the pattern called for a 14″ zipper, and to attach the zipper ends outside the stops.  Generally, when you buy a zipper, the length is the distance between the stops, but when you’re figuring in the size of the stops (which can be slightly different with different brands and styles of zips) that adds a bit of length too.  I know in the grand scheme of things it may not seem to matter, but that 1/4″-1/2″ difference can actually make a big difference when it comes to fitting a zipper around a curved piece. 

For example, I was putting in the zipper for the front pocket & did my best to guess at what my exact zipper length should be.  The first time I tried piecing in the zipper, I ended up with quite a bit extra at the bottom.  

I wasn’t sure if I had guessed wrong on getting my zipper length just right, or if I didn’t get it placed around the curve correctly.  If the total zipper length had been provided, I would have known right away that I just needed to rework the curve around the zipper to get it to fit instead of trying to figure out which of two things was my issue.  In the end I was able to reposition the zipper in the opening & get it to work, but my zipper still ended up wavier than I would have liked and I’m not sure if it’s because I just didn’t get it in there smooth or if it’s actually the incorrect length.  I’m sure I’m the only one who will notice, but it’s still a bit of a frustration. 

In the end, I really love how my bag turned out.  I already used it at the park earlier this week and it was perfect for a few essentials and super comfy when chasing the kids around.

Overall, I definitely recommend On the Go Bags.  I really enjoyed reading through it, working on this bag, and look forward to working on more projects from it.  I think first up will be the Hipster Pocket Scarf!

Thanks for having me, Reece!

Thanks so much Bree! I always love your fabric combos and this one is no exception! I really love your modifications too! 
If you’re just joining us now, make sure to go through the rest of the week’s reviews (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) to get caught up.

Andrea from Stitcharmony joins me today to review Make Pincushions 12 Darling Projects to Sew.

For my very first review I chose Make Pincushions 12 darling projects to sew. 
Why did I choose this book? Well, I’ve been on Instagram now for just over 6 months and I am loving all the creativity, inspiration and support. If you sew like myself, part of the fun on Instagram is joining creative sewing swaps that are usually hosted by someone you may follow. The short of it is… you create something for someone and in the meantime someone is busy working creating something for you. It could be anything from a mini quilt, to a bag, etc… You get it right? 
If you are in a swap you may also want to create “extras” for your partner to add to your package. Being a sewing swap who wouldn’t need or want a pincushion? So I thought this would be the perfect book for me as I am always looking for fun quick gifts to add. 
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First off, I love ebooks. Don’t get me wrong, I do love books too, but ebooks are instant gratification as you just download and off you go!  No waiting for the truck from Amazon or stalking the delivery person. 
The layout of this book is great. It’s simple and very straight forward. I’m a visual learner so I love the small diagrams and photos that go along with each project. 
I find the book starts with the fairly easier projects then continues on to harder ones. 
The only thing with this ebook is you do need a online printer to print out some of the patterns in the book. So if you don’t have access to one you will not be able to create more than half of the projects in the book. 

I’m a work at home mum, I sew for a living and time is money.  So right off the bat, even though I was attracted to the embroidery projects, I decided to go with two simple ones. Why? Because I love simple quick patterns that have no pattern pieces to be printed, that you can literally just whip up, personalize and make your own. ​
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The two pincushions I chose were the Kaleidoscope pincushion by Jeni Baker AGF designer and the Boxy pincushion by Virginia Linsday of Gingercakes. Both of these projects took less then two hours total to complete, and they probably would have taken less time without interruptions (rare in my world)!

The Kaleidoscope pincushion calls for 18 different coloured 2″ squares. I did not have time to run downstairs to my solid stash and start mulling over colours so I went a different route. I chose my mochi linen dot bundle (magic number 18!) from the Fat Quarter Shop and just like that, an hour later I had my lovely rainbow mochi linen dot Kaleidoscope pincushion! I really enjoyed this pattern, it is so simple and so versatile that you really can make it your own. Maybe a small fun print or some Liberty floral? 

My next pincushion I chose to make was the Boxy Pincushion. This one I decided would possibly be created for the reason I chose the book in the first place…my current swap which has a beloved Heather Ross fabric theme. I decided on her coveted briar rose strawberries and gnome fabric. This was also a super quick make with lovely results. Also very versatile as you can fussy cut the covered button or add a wooden button instead. The possibilities are endless!

This book has some great simple projects for beginners to more experienced ones for the experts. 
It has a plethora of very talented authors with so many different projects that there really is something for everyone – from fabric, to felt, to embroidery. 
There are some very unique ones too where at first I thought, “who would make that?” 
But if you’re like me on Instagram joining all these fun swaps, who knows, you may just join that insect themed swap and just have to make that super cool ant pincushion!!! 

Some lucky swap partners Andrea has! Those adorable handmade pins are perfect for the pincushions too. If you’d like a copy of this book, you can find it here.

Click through the last 3 days (here, here, and here) to see the other sewing books that have been reviewed this week, and check back in tomorrow for the final book this week.

Umm wow! Each and every project is incredible! Thanks so much Natalie for sharing! 

Check out more of Natalie’s work and follow her blog at Hungry Hippie Sews. To get yourself a copy of Sew Illustrated, head on over to C&T Publishing and pick one up.

Check in again tomorrow for another book review, and head back to Monday and Tuesday’s posts if you missed them. I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of these.

Hi! I’m Crystal of the Cloth Albatross. I was so excited when Reece asked me to review a book for C&T Publishing. The biggest problem I had was choosing which book I wanted to get. C&T has several bag making books by awesome designers. A couple of their bag making books I had already purchased (On the Go Bags, and Zakka Style), so I went with one of the newer releases – Perfect Patchwork Bags by Sue Kim.

I was unfamiliar with Sue Kim, so I was excited to find out that she’s the designer behind ithinksew patterns. She has several bag patterns that I’ve always wanted to try but for some reason haven’t purchased yet (maybe because I have way too many patterns and not enough time to make them all). After making a pattern from her book, I definitely need to add some of her bag patterns to my collection. The Demelza Backpack might be first on my list.

Perfect Patchwork Bags includes 15 projects and I was unsure which one I was going to make. I narrowed it down to the Mackenzie Messenger Bag, the Chloe Bag, or the Scarlett Clutches.

The Mackenzie Messenger Bag is my favorite style of the 3, but I ended up going with the rectangular Scarlett Clutch. I chose the clutch pattern because love triangle piecing and didn’t have the proper hardware for the Mackenzie Messenger Bag. Really, it had nothing to do with me being lazy and choosing the easier project.

The Scarlett Clutch has 2 versions – a rectangular shaped clutch and a square clutch. I went with the classic rectangular shape but the square clutch is funky and different. One thing that I really like about the Perfect Patchwork Bags is that each project has several different bags made from the pattern, including one that’s not patchwork. Sometimes it’s hard to envision what a bag looks like without the added interest of patchwork, so it’s a big plus that she included pictures and the changes that need to be made to the pattern. This particular comparison (bottom right pic) is not the best because the fabric is Echino (a Japanese fabric that already looks like it has been pieced) but you can still tell that the clutch looks great without the piecing.

One of the great things about piecework on a project is that you can use fabrics that you love but don’t have enough of for a full project. It’s something that you can use up your scrap pile with or highlight smaller aspects in fabrics that don’t stand out as much when they’re part of the larger piece of fabric. For my clutch, I chose fabrics by Rashida Coleman-Hale of Cotton + Steel. I love her style and thought that these prints from two different collections (Mooonlit and Macrame) were fun together.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern. I only pieced the flap, rather than the whole body; and I didn’t use the accent piece on the bottom of the front flap. In hindsight, I prefer the way the clutch looks with the bottom trim on the flap but when I was putting it together, I did the bottom in vinyl, so I didn’t want to have the accent trim in the same material as my clutch body. Next time I would choose a complementary accent trim. This clutch would look good with a pink accent trim. I do like having the body in vinyl because it breaks up the piecing and doesn’t make the clutch so busy but next time I’ll definitely leave the accent trim on.

The lining I chose for the clutch is also from Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Macrame collection. The Scarlett Clutch’s flap closes with a magnetic snap and its main body closes with a zipper.

For pattern books, I prefer e-books over hardcopies of books because your pattern pieces are already digitized, so you don’t have to worry about scanning them in. In some pattern books, the pattern pieces are overlapped for different patterns but in this book, they’re all separate, which I really appreciate. I did have one issue with a line being incomplete on a pattern piece but it was within the seam allowance and was easy to see where the line was supposed to go. However, I emailed C&T about the issue and they responded within an hour saying that they would fix the digital download (and they didn’t even know I was writing a book review!). I was really impressed with the fast response. I didn’t expect to hear anything back until the next day at least.

Another reason that I chose this pattern book is because I was unfamiliar with the designer. I wanted to be able to look at the patterns with fresh eyes. It’s really easy to get used to a designer’s pattern writing style and skip over confusing bits by remembering how they’ve done things in previous patterns. I was very impressed by Sue Kim’s pattern writing style. I found the patterns easy-to-follow without being drawn out. Another great thing about this book is that you can use the piecing templates for piecing on bag patterns that you’ve made before but want to give a different look to. Conversely, I think all of the patterns in this book look great without piecing, so even if you’re not into the patchwork look, you might still enjoy Perfect Patchwork Bags.

Thank you so much Crystal! I always enjoy seeing your work! 

Remember to check back tomorrow for another sewing book review. If you missed yesterday’s, you can catch up here.