Betty Bag Swap

To combat the fact that my lovely Threads Across the Sea (TATS) friends and I have not been able to get an in-person meet-up this year, we decided to join in a little socially distanced stitching by way of a swap. Remember those?

We wanted to make a little something for each other - no pressure, just fun. We opted to test drive Judith's fabulous new You Tube class and make our "secret" partner a Betty Bag.

Of course, I soon discovered that it's not easy to keep the secret of who you are making for when the four of us know each others' tastes so well.  I tried a bluff with this fabric pull - for a partner who likes Tilda? or who likes teal? or who likes pink? Not sure I was really fooling anyone though ;-)  The secret wasn't the main thing though. We were each having fun doing what we love for friends we love, and that's what matters.

It was so brilliant taking a class with Judith again, even if just virtually.  The Just Jude Designs Betty Bag Class is such an accessible watch and Judith has filled it full of tips on how to use your machine, your quilting bar, your zipper foot, so you learn lots along the way as you construct the Betty Bag stage by stage under her fab tuition.

The Betty Bag has lovely features that allow you to learn how to incorporate magnetic clasps, letterbox zippers and top zippers, single fold binding and hardware fitting.  None of it is scary as Judith walks you through it one step at a time, and the beauty of buying the You Tube class is that you can repeat any section as often as you like. I did!

Betty is a cute little bag for times when you want to carry a minimum.  It would be a fabulous holiday pouch to carry a couple of credit cards (see the slots in the pic above) some loose change and your passport or tickets, assuming of course you are keen to travel currently.  Alternatively, it would be really handy for nipping out to the shops with your cards and your mask!

I added a few little zipper tab bling things

and a cute handmade button on the front.  Perhaps I got carried away, but my partner can adapt the bling if required.

My finish was a little bit wonky, so I've encouraged my partner to learn to stand with one hip tilted to take the bad look off it ;-)  This is not a pattern fault, but user error when aligning the magnetic snaps - apologies partner xx

Of course, you'll want to see the one I received too -

The lovely Di nailed it with her fabric choices on this version 

so beautiful

and I love the cute multi coloured zips with those handy ring pulls.

I LOVED sharing this project with my TATS friends and cannot recommend Judith's class enough.  Please do go and get it for yourself.  My advice - watch it all the way through before you do anything else. Just enjoy and follow the process, and then have fun re-watching and making your own beautiful Betty Bag!

Looking forward to a little more TATS socially distanced sewing soon!