Deckchair part II

Okay, so I decided to sew the sides to the gusset and then bind with some more stripes. The binding is cut on the grain (no corners to manipulate so bias wasn't really necessary and I didn't really like the idea of spiraling stripes on the edges – too fussy) and pressed using a binding maker.

Binding makers are one of those gadgets that, yes, you can live without but once you have one you'll never look back. I used to make my bias binding by hand folding and pressing and got pretty good at it too but I think this gadget allows for more productive use of my time – I can still make all my own binding but in a fraction of the time.

I wanted the stitches to look nice on both sides and the thing kept slipping since there were so many layers in each seam by this time. I put in some extra time and tacked the binding in place.

I'd been reading Bridges on the Body and saw this presser foot being used as a seam guide so thought I'd give it a go. Wow – great idea! I've not used this foot before but will definitely keep it handy now. The slots allow fabric to be lined up for edge to edge sewing or for edge top stitching. Those layers I mentioned earlier . . .  yes, that's right, made the bag edge too thick to feed through the slots! There is very little clearance when the foot is raised so I imagine this foot really isn't intended to sew binding onto bags. It didn't mind too much.

The top of the bag was folded and pressed at each side of the handle curve and sewn in place. Sorry, I forgot to take pics. 

The dowel rod was cut to size and inserted and here is the finished article . . . 

For future reference I'd add more space below the handles. This works fine as is but a bit more space would be good.

The verdict: a pretty snazzy deckchair bag. Super stripy and ready for a day at the beach! (Or anywhere else!)Overall I like this project but I'm not totally happy with it. It needs more space around the handle so that needs worked into the pattern for future versions. I suspect this bag will be reworked for my (or daughter's) personal use!

And finally . . .

Another pretty flower picture. This is a native one – common knapweed. Not a very pretty name considering how lovely it looks!