Aurifil Challenge - Bag Making

The Challenge for October - Bag Making
I rarely make bags these days so what a lovely challenge to give me an excuse to make a bag again. With the continuing lockdown getting a bit tiresome and sewing mojo somewhat depleting I decided to go to one of my favourite 'pick me up' projects - a Sew Quirky Pattern called Frankie the Frenchie. There's something about these fun applique patterns that really make me smile and I love the process. 
The applique
Before constructing the bag I raided my stash pile for lots of co-ordinating scraps. Using Heat n Bond Lite it's a really quick process to trace the pattern pieces, iron on to the fabrics, give them a trim and then start building up Frenchie. I was a late convert to applique and if it was time consuming and faffy I certainly would have given up :) 

Once constructed, using an applique mat I transferred it onto the bag fabric and then began the fun process of stitching the pieces down. This is where I get to use all of those fancy stitches I have no idea what they are for and lots of my wonderful Aurifil. 

Using a mixture of 28wt and 50 wt Aurifil you can get some really striking stitches. The 28wt is thicker and stands out, sometimes looking like hand stitching. The 50wt blends in a bit more for those fiddly bits and allows the 28wt to shine through. 

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Making the Bag
The pattern comes with a nice simple Tote bag pattern, so with just a little interfacing, some topstitching and strap making the bag comes together easily and quickly.

I used some 40wt denim coloured (1158) thread to construct the bag pieces and for the topstitching as it matched my Essex Linen beautifully. 

Thread used:
Denim - 1158 (40 wt)
Various (50 wt)
Various (28 wt)