jano bag

All the bags from the 2011 As the end of the year is coming, people usually take a moment to look at the past year and make the resolutions for the next year.   I usually don’t do this, but this year I thought to myself “Why not?” So while the year 2012 is just around the corner, I decided to take a look at what I made this year and plan projects for the upcoming year. Firstly, since I’m a huge fan of statistics (who would have guessed?), the statistics about the year 2011:   Made 8 bags (2 of them I gave to my friends, 1 is once again in the process of remaking, 1 I don’t like, so I have 4 bags left for using) , 1 case for sunglasses; Made 5 tutorials (2 for bag-making, 3 non-bag related) ; Started a blog (I just had to mention this fact ;D); The most popular post of the year: Tutorial: Backpack   (I actually noticed, that posts about pattern making are more popular than the ones about assembling, so maybe I should do more of these posts next year? What do you think?...

A quick tutorial on re-fashioning a simple cardigan (admit it, we all own at least one!) by turning it into a short-sleeve cardigan with a braid along the neckline. I actually liked this cardigan the way it originally was, but the quality wasn't the best and sleeves were falling apart, so I decided to fix it and here is the result: Tutorial P.S. please excuse the quality of the photos: the cardigan was too bright and I needed to fix all the photos so that you can see the stitches instead of the sea of red color :D   1. Decide how short you want your sleeves, mark it and cut (photo 1). Fold the end of the sleeve and sew, like you see in photo 2. Tipp: if you have problems when it comes to sewing stretchy fabrics (my sewing machine creates wavy seams on stretchy fabrics), put very thin paper underneath (I put newspaper) and sew regularly.  2. Take the cut-off sleeve, cut the end (don't know how to say it, but cut the part that has different knitting ;D ). Take the remaining par...

Hello! Today I'd like to show you a bag you already seen -  the bag from Show and Tell №2 . I really wanted to show you how it looks carried, but at the time I didn't have the possibility to take any other picture than a bag standing on the floor. So during last photoshoot for the shoulder bag/clutch, we took some photos of  №2 (I should have named the bags - it's now confusing ;D ). But photos with me didn't turn out well, so, with a permission of a friend, I'm showing the bag carried by my friend (to whom I actually forgot to thank for taking photos ;D ). Have a nice week! A friend carrying a bag 

Hello Everyone! I've waited so long to make and show you this bag - the classic shoulder bag, with a removable/adjustable strap, which allows to wear the bag in 3 ways: like a regular shoulder bag; like a purse or as a clutch.  If you read  my previous post you know, that I was trying a lot of new things this time. And, well, I won't lie to you guys - I made some mistakes. On the other hand - I learned from my mistakes and I won't repeat them in the future, so yey! :D Anyway, I glued way more than I planned, therefore I glued too many fingers ( t ipp: super glue are easily removable from fingers with nail polish remover that has acetone in it ). Planned on sewing some seams by hand - it turned out to be mission impossible because of the leather (faux crocodile leather, by the way). But the glue came in handy and saved the day. Oh, and in case you are thinking of making a handbag yourself instead of buying it, but still don't know if it's worth trying, let me give y...

Faux croc leather in colour beige or nude (frankly, I can't tell the difference :D). In reality, those vertical lines aren't visible. Wonder what I am currently making? Oh, a bag of course! But this time I'm making something different and using so many things and methods I've never used before: Faux crocodile leather - actually it look very faux ( see the photo above ), but I wanted to try croc for so long that I thought I'll give this fabric a try (let's just hope it's not as bad as the leather I used on the previous bag...) Gluing - can you believe I managed to go so long without using glue??? Why am I using glue this time? Well, this brings us to the next point: A Sturdy bag - FINALLY! Making a very sturdy bag has been my goal for quite some time, since I really like them, but somehow I always end up making baggy  bags. Actually my previous bag should have been very sturdy, but after starting sewing the leather I decided it would look better baggy (we...