It is no secret I love Sew Sweetness patterns by Sara Lawson.  I’ve come to really trust her instructions and I love all the innovative ways Sara constructs her bags.  She has written quite a few patterns and has a nice variety of large bags down to small accessories.  You can read about a few of my makes below:

• Aeroplane Bag – here
• Crimson and Clover Traincases – here and here
• Trompe le Monde Bag – here
• Appaloosa Bag – here

Right before Halloween, Sew Sweetness released a whole collection of 12 small accessory pouches and bags called the Minikins.  These were all designed to be quick sews which use mostly fat quarters.  There are many bags patterns out there which can take several hours and even days to complete.  Sometimes you just need to be able to complete a project in one sitting to feel accomplished and these definitely do just that.

The real bonus is that this pattern collection also comes with 12 step-by-step videos!  How amazing is that?!?  These are great if you are a novice or even like me, who may need help around a few steps.  It’s great to watch them just to pick up some of Sara’s tricks.

It was so hard to pick which Minikin I would make first.   But since I was heading into heavy craft market mode, I wanted this project to be THE quickest.  So, I selected the Sidewinder because of the curved-no seam-bottom.   This looked perfect for someone short on time and you just need non-directional fabric.  (For these unicorns, I did piece together the exterior because of the direction.)

For all of my Sidewinders, I used the recommended Annie’s Soft and Stable, but also interfaced all the quilt cotton (exterior and interior with Pellon SF101 for added structure.)  The Pellon SF101 on the exterior fabric helps prevent extra stretching and puckering when basting with the Soft and Stable.

For all of the gussets, I used either cork or faux leather, all found in the Sew Sweetness shop.  It’s nice to find so many substrates all in one place.  (Gotta love that flat-rate shipping too!)  It helps amplify the bag design and really make them look professional with cork or faux leather.  The corners get a little tricky, but you can muscle through it and use Sara’s technique in her video.

This pattern and some of the other Minikins make use of a drop-in lining.  This is when the lining and bag exterior are constructed separately and then joined together (usually through top-stitching around the zipper.)  Even with all the bags as I have made….I’m terrible at attaching  drop-in linings!  I can’t get my seams to match up so my stitching consistently catches all of the lining…grrr…  I tried pins and even glue basting the linings.  But when I have to maneuver around end of the zippers, something always manages to shift.  I’ve also spent an absurd amount of time trying to hand-sew in the linings…and this girl just doesn’t have time for that!  So, that’s why I devised my own lining hack.

{Edited to reference the step #’s per Sidewinder instructions.}

In step #5, skip the top-stitching.  Complete step #7 per instructions, stopping before you top-stitch the Lining Side Panel down.  With left over scraps, I cut approximately (2) 3″x1.5″ rectangles and folded each in half lengthwise.  Each rectangle was centered and placed behind the zipper openings as shown in the red oval. Continue with the instructions to top-stitch the Lining Side Panel, along with these extra rectangles.

This method provides me with about 1/2″ of extra lining for my stitching to catch on either side of the zipper.  The rest of the lining and exterior are completed as instructed.

As personal preference, I glue baste the lining to just barely covering my zipper stitches and use clips to hold them into place until the glue dries.

 There is no such thing as too many clips, right?!?

With a larger needle (16,) I top-stitch around the zipper with the exterior panels facing out.  You can see how it catches the lining below.  Using a thread to match the lining helps to hide any wonkiness 😉

I use this method to have one line of stitching versus the method in the pattern.  Personally, I like the cleaner look, but there is no structural difference.  I’ve seen others create two parallel lines of stitching for a nice detail as well.

 You can see at the zipper ends, my sewing isn’t perfect, but I am able to always secure the entire lining no matter how much wrestling I have to do with a bag. The extra lining fabric give me a nice cushion!

I finished the Sidewinder with just a rivet to add a little extra polish to the pouch.  A little hardware goes a long way to make your project look professional.

This is great fast sew that has so much visual appeal for being a “pouch.”  It definitely set my products apart from other craft market vendors and I’m SO happy for that!  Check out a few of my different versions below.

Project Details:

• All pouches are the “Medium” Sidewinder Pattern
• Fabrics: Unicorns by Sarah Watts, Rifle Paper Rosa Canvas, Art Theory by Alison Glass
• Black Cork and Gold Faux Leather from Sew Sweetness’ Shop
• Thread: Gutermann 100% Polyester

Have you tried out the Minikins yet?  I hope you like my drop-in lining hack and let me know how it works for you,  if you decide to try it out!

Keep Sewing Along,

Cristy

Please note this post DOES include affiliate links and I have received the pattern free as part of being a Sew Sweetness bag tester.  I was not required to write a blog post and you know all words are my own.