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My first Carioca bag was tattered. It had had a great life though, but needed a much-required retirement: The sort of dragon-scale simili was shedding everywhere like a Husky!
I loved the size of the small Carioca so I swent with the same pattern.
- Carioca
- simili*
- doublure
- foam
- bouncyfirm 210
Solid look
I won’t say more about the pattern itself, everything was said about it on my Carioca first article.
Solid fabric, but with some variegated thread for topstitching. That was fun to look at unfolding its magic swirls.
Firm, firm…firmer!
The simili with no interfacing would have been too soft. Even with interfacing on the lining. So I added Bouncyfirm 210 bought on the former Serialbagmakers (now zipperzoo).
But it wasn’t firmer enough to my taste! So I cut a foam cradle based on the lining pieces.
I thought I was clever until I had to insert the cradle through the tiny inside pocket and think about HOW ON EARTH it would remain in place.
I added extra rivets on the handles. If I had had bag feet they would have helped keeping the cradle in place as well.
This navy simili* was a pleasure to sew with. The hardware had been upcycled from my old bag + some I already had, hence the mix of silver and rainbow.
Teflon plate and foot
Similis are notorious for getting stuck on the plate, resulting in tiny stitches at the beginning of the stitching line or skipped stitches.
I bought Janome’s Teflon plate and foot set for 6700P. Price was quite a bit stiff (80 euros for the set), but it was worth it.
I started my topstitching with said plate and foot. It was better, but still tiny stitches at the beginning of the line. So, instead of the Teflon foot, I used the walking foot paired with the Teflon plate. Game changer!
