Mandala Bag in Pink
This Mandala Bag in Pink, was a birthday present. I wanted bold, fun and practical. I made the bag using a 6mm hook and a pattern I found on Pinterest and used this YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjd4vkOCJmU&ab_channel=Crochetlovemelbourne the author had made. The video is so valuable because it is very easy to misunderstand the written instructions.
BUT….
Welp, here’s the issue. The bag is on a very large scale because of the hook size. The holes are quite large and the owner of the bag reached out for a lining to be put in. Now, I am not a sewer or seamstress by nature. I thought “Oh, how hard will this be….” How wrong was I!?
Sewing takes a different type of thinking, thinking in reverse. I took on the challenge and had fights with my sewing machine, utilized YouTube to find answers to my troubles. Tension is a scandalous beast who will eat your creations if you don’t do things properly. Here are some photos to show that with little training, no iron and determination with a few YouTuber’s guidance, success can be met. And yes, I put in a pocket.
The Trials of Learning to Sew
To make the lining for the Mandala bag I used a Navy blue pair of Gaucho Pants and a flouncy shirt. I was able to use my rotary cutter to cut the pants down to a circular pattern for the heavier part of the liner that would also showcase the Mandala Pattern. The flouncy shirt was a great choice for the inside because of the bright colour and floral print. I cut the shirt at the shoulders and the collar of the shirt is how I created the opening to the bag.
First I sewed the Navy pants in their circular shape. Next, I began the attempt of sewing the collar to create the opening. The opening gave me immense frustration. This is how the tension struggles began. Due to unforeseen factors, the Navy pants have serging. The weight difference caused my machine to malfunction.
Tension
Tension guidance I learned YouTube was that as a machine is used the tension needs to be higher or depending on the weight it may need to be adjusted. Make a Sample Swatch!
Happy Travels in Your Future Sewing Adventures
Use your tools, use your brain and use different Social Media Platforms to make your dreams in crafting come true.
I must say the satisfaction after hitting wall after wall in learning a new craft is epic.
Now, this knowledge better lead me to success in my next sewing project haha.