Lily Bag in Lorenza

I recently got this beautiful fabric from Alexander Henry's Lorenza collection. It's been on my wishlist for so long and I finally my hands on some of it. The first thing I love about this print are the bold colours and I'm always a fan of retro looking floral prints. The design just makes a statement with this print and you can use it for day or night. 

So to start off my first handmade bag using this fabric, I came up this this design which is quite similar to my Dahlia Bags but using a zip as the closure and having an adjustable strap so that it can be used as a shoulder bag or a message bag. 

My newest bag .... the Lily Bag using Lorenza in Onyx by Alexander Henry.... and so named Lily after an aunty and also to go with all my other bags named after flowers!

I've use Lorenza in Onyx by Alexander Henry and black cotton drill for the contrast. It is fully lined with beige cotton drill and interfaced to make it sturdy and all seams are reinforced. It has 2 inner pockets for your purse, ipod and phone; and another inner pocket with a zip and a swivel clip for your keys. The bag closes with a zip closure.

Measurements:


Width Top: 13"
Width (Widest): 16"
Depth: 3"
Height: 12"
Adjustable Strap Length: 21.5" - 36" nickel sliders


Interior has 2 pockets and 1 zip pocket
1 x Zipper Pocket: (W)9" x (L) 6"
1 x Pocket: (W)8" x (L)5.5"

Congrats to the Giveaway Winners

I'm so happy to announce the winners of my first and second Giveaway for my This Side Of The Island Shop. The winners were picked by Random.org  and because I reached another new 25 fans (total now 77!!) for my This Side Of The Island Facebook page I had to have a double draw and have 2 winners.

The Giveaway!!!

My Giveaway List of everyone who entered the giveaway. Thank you so much for being a part of the giveaway.

So here are the winners!!!

The First Winner 

No.29 Gracy Baxter

The Second Winner

No. 30 Christine Santos

Thank you so much for being a part of this Giveaway and I can't wait for the next one. Random.org is amazing!!!

Ava Everyday Messenger Bag

I've been talking about making a messenger bag type of bag for some time now and this Ava Everyday Messenger bag is finally here. I just had to name it after one of my baby nieces and I made it in mind with having to use it as a diaper bag and travel bag.

A lot of my ideas for my bags starts off with just a simple drawing and some measurements. I wanted a bag that could carry everything and I mean just about everything.... diapers, spare clothes for Jacob, toys, containers for snacks and all the things that I usually carry with me.... iPod, camera, phone and maybe a novel if I'm lucky.... the need for plenty of space...

This bag has a gusset which gives this bag extra space and strength and it's also wider at the base and slightly narrower at the top to give it a more tailored look. I also added in a reinforced strap that is sewn into the gusset to give a textured look on the sides and added that same width banding on top of the bag do that it highlights the printed fabric from the contrast black. Alot of the times when I sew I'll add on as I go and this extra banding just gave it another dimension and more space which really helped when I decided to make it fit my laptop. What really surprised me when I finished it was the way it sort of fell giving the bag more of a shoulder/hobo kind of look rather than a straight up messenger bag. I was really happy with this bag and it's the start of my Black to Basic collection :)

Ava Everyday Messenger Bag

Ava Everyday Messenger Bag

Ava Everyday Messenger with Adjustable Strap. It is a medium/large bag roomy enough to carry your laptop, books, ipod, phone…). You can carry this bag like a messenger, tote, or shorten the strap and sling it over your shoulder. The adjustable strap with its variation in length makes it a messenger bag for all your everyday needs; travel bag, diaper bag, laptop bag, tote....

I've use Michael Miller Floral Script Fabric in Cream and black cotton drill for the contrast. It is fully lined with beige cotton drill and interfaced to make it sturdy and all seams are reinforced. It has 3 inner pockets for your purse, ipod and phone; another inner pocket with a zip and a swivel clip for your keys. The bag closes with a zip closure.

Measurements:

Width: 15"
Gusset top: 3.5"
Gusset bottom (Depth): 4.5"
Height: 12"
Strap Length: 20" - 32.5" nickel sliders

Interior has 3 pockets and 1 zip pocket
1 x Zipper Pocket: (W)9" x (L) 6"
1 x Pocket: (W)8" x (L),55"
1 x Pocket: (W)4" x (L) 5.5"

You can purchase this bag at Etsy : 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70129118/ava-everyday-messenger-with-adjustable

It fits my laptop too!

The bag lying down flat. 

Ava Everyday Messenger Bag

Clutch Purses and a Giveaway!

I'm so happy to see that at this moment I've checked my This Side Of The Island Shop Facebook page and I have another 25 new fans and as I promised I'm going to announce my first Giveaway. 

I've been meaning to come up with some clutch purses and came up with two designs; a pleated clutch purse and a clutch bag. 

Pleated Clutch Purse

Pleated Clutch Purse:

This Pleated Clutch Purse is such a handy little thing. It comes with a strap that attaches to the zip with a swivel clip. Lined with beige cotton drill and has an inner pocket. All exterior fabric is lined with a cotton interfacing making it sturdy and never loses it's shape when the fabric is crushed but still soft like cotton. 

Measurements: 

width (top): 9'

width (bottom): 10.5'

height: 5.25'

strap: 11'

zip: 8'

Clutch Bag

Clutch Bag:

This Clutch Bag is the perfect little bag for just about anything; a make-up bag, phone/ipod bag, or a handy clutch for the day bag. It is a flat bottom clutch that comes with a strap that attaches to the zip with a swivel clip. Fully lined with a beige cotton drill and has an inner pocket. All exterior fabric is lined with a cotton interfacing making it sturdy and never loses it's shape when the fabric is crushed but still soft like cotton. 

Measurements: 

width (top): 8'

width (bottom): 8'

height: 5'

depth: 1.25'

strap: 12'

zip: 7.5'

The Giveaway!

I've reached another 25 new fans on my Facebook page and so this is my little giveaway to say thank you. I'm giving one of these clutches for the giveaway and you can have the chance to pick one if you are the winner. Just become a fan of my "This Side Of The Island Shop" page on Facebook and make a comment below this photo of the clutch purse giveaway. This offer ends on 31st March and I'll be using a random generator to select the winner of this giveaway. The winner will be announced on 1st April.

Become a fan of This Side Of The Island Shop on Facebook , leave a comment and WIN!

Shoes

This year these been a few more family and friends have little baby girls and I've been meaning to make them something. I had in mind to make a baby bag or a little dress but I thought I'd start this off by making baby shoes for those little baby feet. 

My friend Angeline has a gorgeous 10month old girl and I recently caught up with her at a friend's wedding and tomorrow I'll be seeing her again once again at another wedding tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to seeing her beautiful Mia and I've made her something special for her first few steps.

These are my little creations and I'll be putting similar ones on my upcoming Etsy shop. I'm thinking of calling the line Mia's Dancing Shoes. 

Floral Denim Dancing Shoes

Kimono Red Dancing Shoes

I managed to sew my label this time I usually forget. Oh and those lovely little legs are Jacob's feet. He was a bit upset that I had made shoes but not in his size!

Dragonflies

I've always been fascinated by traditional embroidery 

Mini Pocket Pouch and a little cherry blossom.

I have this really bad habit where I almost always forget where I've placed my phone. It's on the book shelf, the dressing table, my desk, under my pillow, in a pocket somewhere or in my soundproof handbag. I just can't keep track of it and when I do find it I've usually missed 1 or 2 calls. It's not intentional or anything it's just that I'm a very forgetful kind of person when it comes to my phone.....oh and my iTouch as well!

It's these two things that can take up most of my time just looking for them. So for today's sewing I decided to make a mini pocket pouch to try and keep them together.... or at least they have a chance at getting lost at the same time but at least they'll be "lost" in the same spot. 

My Mini Pocket Pouch has just enough space for my phone and iTouch. I gave it a bit of padding to keep in safe from those accidental falls and a detachable cord so that I can hang it up somewhere. It's nice and snug and it has a velcro tab to keep it in place. 

I used a piece of batik that looked big enough to fit everything and just sewed along the width of the fabric and inserted the foam. Once the foam was in I sewed up the edges and put velcro on the tab for the closure. On the left hand side I put in an large eyelet but seeing I haven't got the eyelet setter yet I managed to still put it in place without it being squashed out of shape. It worked and the hook snaps nicely into place.

So now that I've made this pouch I'm really hoping I don't have to keep looking for it. It should be much easier to keep track unless Jacob decides to hide it which he often does.

I also made this little cherry blossom to add onto my phone cord to replace the cat that came off it a couple of months ago. It's pretty simple to make. Just using a round piece of  fabric and stuff with filling to make a ball and then using some DMC thread shape the ball into a cherry blossom and attach to the phone cord.

Keychain purse

Today's project was a change from the usual handbags and so I tackled another sewing project that I've been meaning to tryout.... the keychain. It's not just any keychain it has a compartment for notes and a zip pocket for coins and of course it's made out of some fabric from long ago. The keychain is actually based on a keychain I've had for over 16 years and I thought of updating the look with some fabric so I drafted out the pattern and came up with this new keychain. 

The keychain purse

This is the compartment for paper notes and I made a small card holder for my driver's license in the inside.

The keychain purse opened up. There's a zipped compartment for coins and the apple keyring for keys. I have a few different shaped keyrings but I thought the apple suited this purse. The whole purse is fully lined and has alot of space to hold just about everything on the go. 

I drafted the pattern myself and it is almost the same as the original purse. It was pretty easy just had to get the seam allowance right and give ample space to accommodate the zipper for the coin compartment. I used a black cotton fabric to line the purse and used interfacing to stiffen the fabric. I'll try to post the pattern later on but I'll need time to figure out the instruction so that everyone can understand it

Phone Pouch

Ashley's little phone pouch is getting a bit old so I revamped it a little and made her this one today. It took a while to draft this one out because I had to get the dart just right and give the pouch enough room to fit the phone. Had to throw away the first few attempts but got the pattern right. I was thinking of adding a small pocket at the back but decided it  would have been too bulky. The material I used was the same pink batik scrap that I made the little clutch with. 

To draft the pattern I use my phone as a template and then added about 1/2' for the width and an extra 3/8 for the seams to get enough space for the dart. I managed to use up all the material scraps and had nothing to spare. The pouch is fully lined with a medium interfacing to give it a bit of structure. 

Snap Snap Snap

I recently ordered my latest sewing gadget and it came in the mail a few  weeks ago. I have been looking forward to using them but it was just waiting to find the right project to test them out. So this is it my snap fastener tool set and a snap button set. 

So to test them out I sewed up this evening clutch in my red kimono fabric and matched it up with a floral snap. The tools didn't come with any instructions so I had to go back to the website to figure out how to use it. 

So basically you use the puncher to make a hole in the fabric and you have to use a hammer for this. Make the hole and place the top part of the button (the one with the pattern) in the hole. Turn it upside down and place the snap part of the button and use the other tool to flatten the inner part of the snap button so that it sets in and permanently stays in place. On the under part of the other fabric make a hole and place the longer snap into the hole and place the cover on the other side and using the domed tool hammer it in to set it. .... sounds easy... if you take the steps one by one it will all follow through.

And this is what it should look like. All snap buttons in place and ready to snap away.

This is the Red Kimono Clutch with a snap button.

my little sewing corner

This is my little sewing corner where everything is made. I love this cabinet. It's made by Horn in Australia and it's such a compact little thing but when it opens up I have ample space to cut and extend arm for another table. Janome and Singer are my favourite brands that I just couldn't do without. This is my new sewing machine and my faithful overlocker is still in the cabinet. It's suppose to keep me organised but ..... I could only wish.

All bags were cut last night and ready to sew. 

A Passion for Sewing.

Last Sunday "This Side Of The Island" was featured in the local newspaper, The Borneo Post. An exciting event for me and another step forward in my passion for sewing and everything I love about handmade.

I've always loved the creative nature of being able to make something from nothing and seeing it come to life so to speak. The first drawing of an idea and the sometimes difficult task to measure and draft that plan out. A few trials and errors and if the first "paper" bag works out it should pretty much fall into place. I hope ;)


Sewing from an idea and getting inspiration from my beautiful stash of fabrics, which is slowly growing and drawing from discussions with my "co-designer", my daughter, Ashley and we begin from there... one step at a time.

Ashley Hobo Sling Bag

This is my new bag called the Ashley Hobo Sling in Petals. 

Before my daughter left for school, she wanted to have a bag that fit snugly over her shoulder and was a bit longer and slightly narrower than her Dahlia bag. We came up with this design which is more like a smile :) and bit more to her taste in the retro look. I put a zip in it for the closure because she wanted to keep the shape when it was on her shoulder so I used a larger YKK zip to make it stand out more. And I'm all into knots and bows at the moment so I had to put one in the strap. 

So here it is! A medium/large hobo sling bag that fits nicely over the shoulder. The print is from Anthology Fabrics - Khristian A. Howell's High Society - Petals - Victoria and the contrast fabric is a fuchsia cotton linen. I made her one in the same print for her Dahlia Bag so for her Hobo Sling I use the Petals in Safari. It is fully lined with natural beige cotton and has a 4 inner pockets, swivel clip for keys, zipper for closure and plenty of room for all your essentials. The strap features an big knot which is fixed and all the seams are double stitched and reinforced.

This one is Ashley's bag but with a coconut buckle instead of the knot. 

Handmade that I've been working on.

A Tulip Bag with Laura Gunn's  Poppy Aqua Skinny Stripes.





Dahlia Bags in Bari Ackerman and Lila Tueller.





Dahlia Bags in Desert Flowers in Red and Kaffe Fassett's Line Dance in Black









Dahlia Bags in Valori Wells Red Olive Roses and Laura Gunn's Poppy Olive Dogwood Stripe. I especially like Laura Gunn's oil painting and how the textures transfers to the fabric.






My new Mia Bag in Burgundy Wine featuring a braided strap. I like the braiding work. I would like to try out the leather braiding technique which involves no cutting, tricky thing to do but it makes it look seamless.








Reversible Hobo in Denim and Modern Meadow, Sunflowers in Sunglow. I like the flexibility of this bag to feature two fabrics and I've made a few of these for friends.