It's done, it's done, it's done...

And I love it! :)  Yes, it has some slight imperfections and there are some aspects of the design that I will change for next time (if there is a next time) but overall, its a keeper!!!

 So here it is on my beautiful wire woman! :)



 A little closer...



 Top view... see it even has a zipper... 1st zipper I've ever sewn in anything actually!!



 And bottom view



And I can't leave out the inside view.  Love the coordinating fabric for the lining. 


Now this was my FIRST time sewing laminated cotton and if you don't know what that is its like fabric with a layer of vinyl or something over it.  Now you can actually buy this type of vinyl and just lay it over whatever fabric you want to use but that means that its not "fused" to the fabric and when you have your final product you can see the vinyl separate from the fabric... with this you can't.  Good quality! :)  Of course, that's why you pay $20 a yard for the stuff!  Speaking of price let me just break it down for you here...

1.  Laminated cotton - 1 yard - $12.00 (got it on sale)
2.  Regular fabric (for lining) - 1 yard - $5.50 (and actually this was on sale too)
3.  Interfacing.  Every single piece cut both lining and outside requires a piece of interfacing too.  It was about 2 1/2 yards - probably about $4.00
4.  Zipper - $2.00
5.  Thread $2.00
6.  Piece of hard plastic that goes on the bottom piece so the purse will stand up and keep its shape - $2.00

So that brings my total to $27.50  - Just for the materials mind you!  Now lets see it took me about a week to sew this booger but that's because it was a new pattern and I was working with new material so it probably would take me 4 hours to cut and sew and finish this purse.  Now the rule of retail is that you double your cost, so my cost was $27.50 - we are now up to $55.00 just for the material and if I decide to pay myself $10 an hour for my labor thats another $40....$95 suggested retail price for this purse!!!  Is that not insane!  Let's just say I don't double my "cost" just round it up to $30 but still pay myself $10 an hour.  That is still $70.  Now you know why handmade goods cost so much!!!!

Okay off that soapbox....and back to this laminated cotton.  I would love to hear from anyone else that has sewn with this and give me some TIPS!!!  This material is a bitch to work with!!!  It's like it sticks to the presser foot and it won't glide well thorough the machine.  Saw one write up where the person put tape on the presser foot to help it glide but that didn't work at all for me! :(  The only way I could sew most of it was the lining (cotton fabric) side up which means my laminated cotton was on the bottom and what you see is not always a nice straight line, know what I mean???  

Needless to say after a weeks worth of work I said... "I'm never sewing with that laminated cotton again"!!!  But it might be like child birth - time goes by and you forget how bad it really was and you do it again.  Who knows????

Anyway, what do you think?

5 comments:

  • Anonymous | April 5, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    Very cute bag! I can only imagine trying to keep those pleats in place without pins...

    Have you used a walking foot? I wouldn't have been able to sew the laminated cotton without it. In fact, since I haven't sewn with laminated cotton since that first bag a few years ago, I haven't tried it again. So may it isn't like childbirth....really was miserable - ha!

  • Aimee | April 5, 2011 at 7:32 PM

    it is beeeeautiful and crazy cute! Love the explanation! :)

  • Aimee | April 5, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    Oh and PS - love what you have done here...my fav is the birdy at the top!

  • Sew Can Do | April 6, 2011 at 4:07 PM

    This turned out really cute! It does take a little work to get the hang of laminated cotton, but it's soooo durable and no pvc like vinyl. The CraftShare section of my blog has all my tips & tricks for making sewing with laminated cotton easier:)

  • Jill | May 18, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Love the bag - so cute!!

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