Another batch of samples

Samples Week

I'm back in samples mode. I made the samples that will go on display for my Joann classes to run thru September and October. This time its a huge travel duffel bag and a simple pillow with a contrasting trim treatment. In addition I will be teaching the basic pajama pant, a sample of which I already had on hand. In my opinion its one of the best first projects any first time sewer can make - easy, practical, instructive and fun to make.

The easiest project was the pillow. Though the pattern calls for a 16 inch form, I had a 14 inch one on hand and used that for the base. The base material is an upholstery type fabric scrap from a handbag I made several months ago.  For the contrasting trim, I used scraps of fabric I had from my stash. This is a super easy project that can be made in an hour or so.  It took me more time to rifle through my stash looking for trim pieces that went well together than it did to sew up.

The large travel duffel bag wasn't hard to make, but took some time to sew up. The project calls for creating the quilted base fabric from scratch. That required sandwiching batting in between the base fabric and muslin and then quilt stitching them together. Again, not hard, just time consuming. 

The bag is quite large and features a side pocket, zippered end pocket and zipper top closure. Here I used a strong home decor fabric with a crisp hand that will can handle the rigors of traveling and was easy to work with. 

Both projects turned out well. But, as is typical at Joann's, I rarely sign up enough students for the classes to run. Oh well, at least they were fun to do.