A Lazy Confession: Shortcut = Wrongcut
by admin — 19 Comments » Lazies, When I made this gorgeous Claire Handbag, I made a cutting error. Yep, I make mistakes when working on my own designs. Don’t be shocked, my whole company is geared toward getting away with sewing murder. Our criminal goal as always: the easy route to the illusion of perfection. So, let me tell you what I meant to do. And we have a new feature at the blog – note at the end.
Here’s the Claire Handbag design (LGD125) shown in the fuchsia color way of City Blooms fabric from Benartex. We saw the blue/green colorway last week on Cathy’s Claire.
Going in the wrong direction
My goal for this Claire was to have the mini striped fabric cut on the horizontal, not the vertical. This is a minor issue, but I feel the overall final project would be more visually interesting if that mini stripe went side to side, rather than up an down.
Shortcut = wrongcut
How did I make this mistake – I took a shortcut and it didn’t pay off in the end. I simply did not think through the cutting of my fabric. Shhhh, don’t tell.
Here’s what I did
I was working with fat quarter cuts. I stacked the wide stripe on top of the mini stripe and cut the two pieces needed for the front/back covers of Claire. Remember, we stack, chop, and swap these two fabrics in this project. More about that here.
When I stacked the two fat quarters, I simply matched all of their edges and cut. As it turns out, the stripes on both fabrics were going the same way. I should have rotated the mini stripe the other way, or simply cut each fabric separately. I didn’t think it through before cutting.
Why it makes a difference on this project
The two main fabrics in this project are stripes. It would have been more interesting if they went in different directions on the final project. The mini stripe would have been much more dramatic on the back if it was horizontal. And it would have flowed better with the handle.
Here’s a peek at the inside of the bag.
New blog feature
You can now easily print our blog posts using the ‘Print This Lazy Post’ link at the end of each post. See it below my name? Simply click that link and the post will refresh in your browser, stripping away all the stuff you don’t want to print. Then click on ‘Click here to print’ at the bottom right of that screen. And, it’s retroactive – you can go back to any post and print.
Enjoy!
Joan
Nice post, and you are so humble mentioning the direction of the stripes coming out differently than what you had planned. When things like that happen in my projects, I tell myself the project deemed it necessary. vbg!
I enjoy your newsletters and reading your blog. Of course I also enjoy and have used many of the lovely patterns you’ve created over the years. Thanks!
Jane
Everything is a learning step, but I actually like the “error” better. And I love the print blog feature. You’re always taking care of us, and we do appreciate it. Time to pull out all the ideas and get busy on the Christmas projects…yes I should have started long ago. But we are, after all, lazies! Keep showing us all the great things you do, right or “wrong”
Joan,I really like the way it turned out.. The flowers are growing up on their stems and the mini striping looks like wild grass or other things growing toward the sun. Very Mother Nature. And remember there are no mistakes in creativity only new discoveries. Judi
I think that it’s beautiful! Potted plant look…. you could jazz it up with an embroidered initial on the pocket even! Looks great!
I also like the vertical stripes, we short gals are always looking for things to make us look taller, LOL
I totally agree with Judi’s response, especially the last line! True slogan for all crafters.
I think it turned out beautifully! Don’t the Amish purposely make a mistake in their beautiful quilts to show that only God is perfect? 🙂 That’s what I remind myself constantly when I’m crafting…whenever I make a mistake, I’m just making a visible reminder of my humanity LOL!
Joan, I love your bags, mistakes or not. I have a question for you. What do you think of putting a zipper in the top of Claire? Would it be possible? I don’t like the idea of someone being able to put their hand in my bag. Thank you so much for your blog. I really appreciate your ideas as well as those who comment. Gita
I like this bag. I think the stripes can work either way and still look great.
My darling husband once helped me cut out some fabric for my Whimsey Wallets. I told him the direction to lay the FQ’s down to get 6 from each, but that I only wanted 3 from each FQright now… well he didn’t listen. I ended up getting my 3 of each, but the scraps left over can certainly not be turned into more wallets.
Sometimes mistakes turn into design opportunities. 🙂 Joan, no one will ever know except you. And for beginner sewers they need to know that those of us who have sewn for years still make plenty of mistakes. LOL
Great blog to remind us to check everything twice and cut once. I like the bag and while you may be right about more drama with horizontal stripes, it’s really in the eye of the designer. Mistake? Never. Personally, I prefer to think of this as another wonderful creative opportunity! I certainly have many of them.
I like the bag, i would have never know it should have been the other way! But i see i’m not the only one that points out the errors made, lol. People that i give things too are to busy grabbing it away from me to hear where i made the mistakes at. Thank you for making it so we can print your tips. I’ve been writing down each time i get one and putting it in a note book.
Thanks for sharing this with us. I really like the fact that you show the interior of the bag. Are their other photos that show the interiors of the various patterns. Also, I’m new to the site, are all the bags made with fat quarters?
Thanks,
Susan
I like the way it turned out with the stripes going vertical – I agree with those that think they look like mini flowers growing out of a flowerpot. I see no “errors” here! I just like the vertical design and the prints you selected are fabulous overall. Thanks sooooooo much for adding the special link so that we can print your posts without all the extras. I have wished for that capacity everytime I read your blog posts. I enjoy your blog so much. Thanks! Maeve
Regardless of the minor mistake, I think the results is beautiful. I can relate to the minor error. I’ve done that before….shhhhh, don’t tell!
Ahhh, it’s so refreshing to hear you make mistakes too!!
I love the way the bag turned out, it’s beautiful.
You certainly should not beat yourself up over this little detail. The bag is beautiful!
I have enjoyed this site so much. I have made 3 of the bags and finally have one cut down to a comfortable size for me. I used stripes and it is just beautiful. Planning on makeing one for the Christmas holidays.
Thanks so much for all of the interesting things that you share with us.
Daisy
Really?!, it was a mistake? Looks gorgeous to me, who would’ve known you meant for the stripes to go another way except for you telling us so!