Sewing Notions!
Here are all of the Susa Glenn Designs sewing notions that
come with the bag project kits and more! Many of the items that you see were
developed by this company because the bag parts were not available to the home
sewing enthusiast. Refer to the project that you are making to learn which
sewing notions you will need. Kits come with the bag parts to make one of that
project. These purse parts are listed at the top next to the picture of the project. If you
want to make more than one of the project, you can buy your extra purse parts
here. Other sewing notions may be needed. These are listed on the lower right
of the project page under "accessories". More information is at the bottom of this page.
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In order to make a professional looking bag or tote, you
need to use structural parts inside the bag. Most home sewers like to sew with
woven fabric as leather is beyond their expertise. Woven fabric, especially
cotton broadcloth appropriate for quilt projects, has inherent problems for bag
making that must be overcome with sewing notions.
Most
of today’s fashion fabrics found in retail fabric
stores are fairly lightweight. Backing the fabric with a needled
polyester craft
weight interfacing solved a lot of problems. However, the one that
worked so beautifully is no longer available. The best solution that I
have found is to use a layer of Pellon's new product, Lutradur,
along with a layer of polyester felt or fleece. Using these two layers
will give your project substance and you will still be able to turn the
project right side out without permanently damaging the structure of
the interfacing. Pressing will remove any crumples and creases. Some
bag designs call for more structure than others. The Lutradur is
available in two weights. There
are areas of a bag that need to have more rigidity (such as the bag
flap and
the bag bottom insert) than the body of the bag. Bag Structure works like a charm and is easy to cut and
staple together so you can make any size insert that your project requires.
Handles can also be a problem. For a professional look, the
handle needs to match or coordinate with the fabric of the bag. Many of today’s
bag patterns recommend just folding fabric or fabric and interfacing several
times to create a flat fabric bag strap. The downside to this type of handle is
that its edges age quickly with use and the handle doesn’t drape well. Fabric
covered braided polyester rope handles don’t have any flat edges so they hold
up better and they drape beautifully! They are easy to cover with fabric if you
use Susa’s
Little Turning Tool.
In addition to the bag and tote sewing notions, we also
carry several notions you will need to make the embroidery projects offered on
this site. The Cluster Stuff is for making your own pillow inserts for the
embroidered pillow projects. This product makes a superior pillow insert than
the ones that you can find for sale in stores. It doesn’t clump or wad up.
Making your own insert is really fast and easy; just cut two rectangles of
fabric the size of the insert called for plus the seam allowances, stitch all
around the perimeter (leave 5” open for filling), stuff it, and stitch it
closed.
If you do machine embroidery, please take a look at the
Straight’n’Square and the Embroidery Tips on the Machine Embroidery page. If
you have a flat back on your embroidery machine, this tool will save you time
and aggravation!
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