U-handblog

Competition Time!

Fancy winning this oh-so-cute, match-made-in-heaven fabric & frame to make a gorgeous Sew-In purse?! Well of course you do! 

We want to know what blog posts you'd like to see here at U-Handbag - whether it's a post all about metal hardware, or a Q&A with Lisa. Let's try and stick to bag making & crafts though eh!

Leave your suggestions in the comments below, and we'll pick a winner at random next week - it's as simple as that :)

 

Contest Details (please read carefully)

To one lucky winner I'll send the Sew-In purse frame and fabric pictured above. There is enough fabric to make one Sew-In purse. 
 

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Leaving your suggestions for future blog posts - must be relevant!!
• Enter as many times as you like.
   

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll select the winning name in a week's time - 5th November (GMT).
   
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage. 
   
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement. This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

Your Top Sewing Tips: The Results!

Thank you to everyone who commented with their best sewing tips, it's been great reading them :)
We've picked 5 of our favourite tips - enjoy!

1. Take your time. 
Lisa says: "I'm a decent sewer (sewist? Crafty person) but I'm slow. I watch telly, go away, come back, call someone. Don't worry if something takes you forever because you're trying to get it just right.
Also wine is your friend. Failing that, gin."

2. Light, light light! 
Maggie says: "Good lighting is a must!"

3. Double check!
Nicky says: "Check you have the fabric the right way around before you start pinning/tacking (wrong side etc), then check again before you start sewing, then just before you press the pedal check again!"

4. Preparation. 
Louise says: "My best tip for sewing (especially bags) would be to prepare every single thing before you start sewing. This includes interfacing all pieces, creating all labels, putting tabs on the end of the zips,
pre-making pockets so they can just be sewn on. If I dont do this I leave something out! If I'm making a batch of make-up cases I'll put three days aside; two for preparation and one for actual sewing. I can get 20 done in three days but if I was to go back and cut all the pieces and sew all the pockets as I go, I don't think I could even do 10! It's also way more satisfying because you have that third day where you create 20 amazing and professional products and it feels SO good to see them all lined up! I'm not sure if this goes without saying - but that's my tip - prepare EVERYTHING!" 

5. Pinning matters.
Kelvin says: "Always pin your fabric before you run that seam through the sewing machine!"

Keeping it sweet

I saw on a quilter friend's timeline that someone had 'trolled' her work on her blog... 

Really, I can't understand why some people actively choose (and exert any energy) to make other people unhappy.  (For us) it's a free world and yes we are entitled to our own opinion, and there are times you might think: 'urgh' that person's work hurts my eyes'.  But what does any (good) person gain from voicing that (un)favourable opinion?  The answer?  Diddly-squat! 

Good people are good by virtue of them deriving much of their happiness through the happiness of others.  I love to make happy, I like to think to that makes me a good person and I like to think that you (dear reader) also love to make happy too.  Let's enjoy celebrating each other, not sending them down in flames.

Sewing Tips: We Need You!

How lucky are we to have such a fab online resource for all of our sewing needs?! Pinterest, YouTube, and fab bloggers mean that we can find the answer to pretty much any crafty problem, all with a few clicks! 

This week we've been talking about the best crafty tips/advice we've been given, whether from family, friends, or the interwebz, and we'd love to hear yours too.

Click image for original source. 

We'll be putting together a list of your top tips, and here's a few of ours to get you started: 

Lisa says:
• Screwing-up is an integral part of growth. Look at babies; they never let a tumble (or 200!) stop them from figuring out how to run and jump about all over the place. Screwing up is disheartening, but stick with it and then reward yourself for your eventual sucess (I find treating myself to a new sewing gadget or an expensive lip balm is a great motivator). Seriously, I do dumb stuff like cut pattern pieces upside down or sew stuff WST all the time!
Another tip: Whatever you do try and always be as prceise as you can, take your time to match edges, side seams, darts, stick to your seam allowances and cut pattern pieces accrurately etc. You'll find that working (not that it is work!) this way will have a profundly super-duper effect of your finished results.

Skye says:
• Iron, iron, and iron some more! This a is tip ingrained into my skull from uni, and it really can make all the difference. A good press will make fabric easier to work with, give a polished look to the finished project and also cover a multitude of sins! 

Mary says:
• Clutch control! Treat your foot pedal like a clutch and not an accelerator and you'll have full control and get super straight lines.

Sarah says:
• This is a poem from a craft book from my childhood and the words have always stuck with me.

"When a task is once begun,
Never leave it til it's done,
Be the labour great or small,
Do it well or not at all."

And since working here at U-Handbag, I've also discovered the joys of interfacing (Woven is my favourite by far!).

 

Leave your best tips in the comments and we'll be back soon with the top tips list!

And don't forget to check out our free tutorials page where you'll find tons of useful bag making tips :)

Nifty Gadgets

Here in the U-Handbag office, we love a good sewing gadget. 

You know the ones we mean; those objects that at first sight you exclaim "Really? Is that necessary?!" …and then you use them for the first time and wonder how you ever lived without them! 

We offer some pretty nifty tools in our shop, from the Finger Presser to the Ironing Glove, which are all designed to make sewing that little bit easier. 

So what we'd love to know is, what sewing gadget can't you live without? Take the poll below and pick your winner!

 

 

...and the winner of the new bag kit is...

Thanks so much for all of your entries to name my latest bag making kit.

We have been overwhelmed with all of your fab suggestions and it took ages to pick a winner!

 

In the end we just had to go with:  'Queen Bee'

 

Elegant yet playful, we think that this bag is going to be the new ruler of our bag making kits.

Congratulations to Vicki Ericson; please step forward and contact us to claim your prize!  As soon as the kit is ready it'll be whizzing its way to you in the post.

 

Buy the Queen Bee Blank Bag Making Kit HERE and the PDF pattern HERE.

 

 

 

Thanks for all of your name suggestions for my latest bag design.  There were soooo many catchy names to choose from it made me dizzy!

 

In the end we settled on:  'The Arc Angel Tote'

 

Pretty sounding, descriptive and a nice play on words.  Well done to: Celtic Thistle Stitches please step forward, contact us and claim your prize!  As soon as the kit is ready (almost there) we'll get it sent to you.

- See more at: http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2013/05/and-the-winner-of-the-bag-naming-contest-is.html#sthash.65z4xOE0.dpuf

Thanks for all of your name suggestions for my latest bag design.  There were soooo many catchy names to choose from it made me dizzy!

 

In the end we settled on:  'The Arc Angel Tote'

 

Pretty sounding, descriptive and a nice play on words.  Well done to: Celtic Thistle Stitches please step forward, contact us and claim your prize!  As soon as the kit is ready (almost there) we'll get it sent to you.

- See more at: http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2013/05/and-the-winner-of-the-bag-naming-contest-is.html#sthash.65z4xOE0.dpuf

Thanks for all of your name suggestions for my latest bag design.  There were soooo many catchy names to choose from it made me dizzy!

 

In the end we settled on:  'The Arc Angel Tote'

 

Pretty sounding, descriptive and a nice play on words.  Well done to: Celtic Thistle Stitches please step forward, contact us and claim your prize!  As soon as the kit is ready (almost there) we'll get it sent to you.

- See more at: http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2013/05/and-the-winner-of-the-bag-naming-contest-is.html#sthash.65z4xOE0.dpuf