Purse-onality Fun 4 Camp

     Here are Nikki and Mia with their Snap Happier purses. Last week Monday morning Nikki and Mia arrived at the house ready to start sewing some purses. I had chosen three purses to make, each a little harder than the previous one. Since neither girl had sewn since last summer I wanted to be sure to ease into the projects.

      The first purse used carpenter's tape for the opening. I helped the girls use the rotary cutter and ruler to cut their fabric pieces. Then they were off to the sewing. On day two they were ready for the fun closure. I did cut the carpenter's tape for them as it can be quite sharp. They were so thrilled as they finished sewing up the last bit by hand. They were having fun snapping open and close the purse.

      Then it was on to the denim bag. I used the Recycled Denim Bag pattern from Birch Street Clothing.  I had already taken apart the jeans to save them some time. I did do a quick demo to show them how it is done. They did get most of the pieces cut and start with some sewing. That evening I finished cutting the rest of the pieces and their lining. Things were moving a little slower than I had anticipated. That was okay. Day three they sewed all day on the denim bag. At this time I realized we would not get to the third purse that I had planned on. Time to switch gears.
 After some discussion with the girls we decided to make Humbug Bags instead. I told them what things they needed to get.

      Day four of camp I helped them with the final part of the purse. It involved having to 'walk' the machine over the teeth of the metal zipper. They paid close attention and were respectful of the damage that could be done if they just quickly sewed over the teeth. Here they are proudly showing off their denim purses.

     Then it was on to the Humbug Bags. I allowed them to choose a decorative stitch to do their quilting. I drew some lines for them to follow and off they went. They had a lot of fun with that part. Another zipper was put in and then the bag sewn closed. They were able to see the difference using a nylon zipper made in the sewing process. Here they are with their Humbug Bags. They were happy to have made three purses in four days even if the last one wasn't the one I had originally shown to them.

     Now a little break from the teaching for me while I get some sewing done for others. I head down to Houston in a few weeks for the ASG conference. I am looking forward to learning for a few days instead of teaching.