Monday 11 June 2012

Zakka in the pink

With wall to wall sport on the TV over the weekend to keep the husband occupied (think rugby, cricket and football!) it was the perfect opportunity for me to get cracking on some of the Zakka-style SAL projects I have been stockpiling recently.

First up was the organiser, which was the project for the week just gone. I wasn't too sure about this project at first, but as I had some nice, bright pink and white dotty linen/cotton blend that I had already earmarked for this, I decided to go with it. I am so glad that I did, as I really enjoyed putting this together, which is not to say that it all went perfectly but even the mishaps didn't put me off, so my faith in the Zakka-style book was restored.



The cutting instructions were a bit confusing I have to say, I didn't quite get the difference between inner panel and lining, even after several read throughs, and I lost track of the various cutting pieces for all of the different pockets. It wasn't helped by the fact that there were several errors in the instructions, I think 7 out of the 15 cutting instructions were incorrect, so even although I had marked the new measurements in the book, it doesn't exactly fill you with confidence that the rest are right, does it? In the end I managed to cut one of the pockets out wrongly, but, fortunately, too large rather than too small. I was also confused as to where each pocket would end up (I am easily confused as you can tell!) and would have changed the placement around if I had worked it out beforehand, but once the pieces were cut that dictated where half of the pockets would end up. That is not the pattern's fault to be fair, but rather a lack of vision on my part!


As the various branded types of interfacing are not readily available here, as with other projects I end up guessing and using what I think is the nearest equivalent from what I have to hand. So, I backed the exterior of the organiser with a fusible fleece, and re-inforced the centre with a flexible, firm interfacing, which meant that with all the pocket layers there were a lot of layers to sew by the end. My sewing machine coped manfully, thank goodness, which is more than can be said for me as I managed to sew the end of the zip into the binding! It was only when I was hand sewing the binding at the end that I realised what I had done, see what I mean about a lack of vision!

Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, I was really pleased with the organiser and I am already thinking I might make some more to give as presents to my daughter-in-law and son's girlfriends. I will try to remember the next time, though, to keep the zip out of the way when sewing on the binding :)

In a rare burst of productivity I also tackled this week's Zakka-style SAL project, a tweed pouch. I don't know if it was a reaction to the unending sport but this was also a pink project. I had some lovely bright pink wool fabric that I had bought a while ago to make myself a Fashionista Bag from Lisa Lam's Bag-Making Bible book. Whilst I haven't gotten around to making the bag yet, although it is on my to-do list, I could at least make a pouch to fit in the bag in the meantime.


I changed the pattern slightly by using Lisa Lam's method to insert a top zip by adding tabs to the zipper ends, and chose to outline the appliqued hexagons in bright pink rather than the transparent thread recommended. I discovered when I went to unzip the pouch once it was finished that the lining on one side is a tad too close to the zip, so some tugging is required to get past the spot, a lesson learnt for the next time I use the zipper foot!

Just to round off the pinkness of this post, I have been getting more ambitious with the crochet and have purchased these lovely balls of yarn to make a crochet cushion cover.



I shall close this post now before you overdose on pink, normal service will be resumed shortly!

Linking up to Manic Monday , Sew Modern Monday Pieceful Life and Sew Darn Crafty

19 comments:

  1. love your organizer and pouch! Nice work

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  2. It looks great, and isn't it nice to have such a great end result after all the trouble you had making it?

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  3. It turned out so good! I am always a big fan of pink :D. The organizer pattern looked so intimidating to me. Good job on constructing it so well, despite all the errors in the instructions! That balloon fabric is so cute!

    I love pictures of balls of yarn. They always make me smile :). That crochet piece in the middle is so pretty!

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  4. Lovely organizer and pouch! Love the hexagons and polka dots!

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  5. I'm quite partial to pink. I LOVE your organiser. The fabric's you have chosen look so good together!!!

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  6. You have been busy, they all look great. I love the dotty pink and white corners on the pouch and the hexies - good choice on the pink thread.

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  7. I love that pink pouch it is gorgeous! I have become quite partial to pink recently, oh dear!

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  8. Great makes, and well done for battling through with that organiser!

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  9. Those pouches are just adorable! Love the pink!

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  10. Despite all the mishaps, your organiser looks fantastic! I'm so impressed you got that outside zip done! That makes my brain hurt to even contemplate.

    That last photo of all the yarn looks so delicious! Even in pink! ;)

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  11. Oh Gosh, well done for sticking with it!! I'm another African Bee - very pleased to meet you!

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  12. Your organiser is amazing - it's so neat! I think I would have given up in a foul temper half-way, so I'm impressed that you're considering making something so fiddly again. It looks great though, so clearly it's worth it:-)

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  13. Really love the fun colors and the hexies!

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  14. I love pink! Everything you made looks great. Love the organizer! In case you are wondering where I'm coming from. I'm from the Star of Africa Bee.

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  15. Your organiser looks great and the other pouch is pretty too. These zakka projects are very stylish :)

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  16. Gorgeous makes! I love them both. I always always add little tabs of fabric to my zip ends it looks so much more finished somehow.
    Again is it ok for me to 'borrow' these photos for another monthly makes blog post later today? I'll link back to you here x

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  17. It turned out beautifully. The cutting instructions were appalling weren't they? I would have liked to alter this project as I don't have 9 bank cards, but I couldn't figure out what was going where in advance! And one of the cutting instructions was STILL wrong! I can't believe they didn't check them!

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  18. Your organizer looks just great and your yarn sets me off dreaming...

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  19. Absolutely love your organizer! And that striped binding -- I am jealous! As you know I am on a binding binge haha! Wonderful!

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