*Fabrics and notions provided by Mondial Tissus in exchange of this article. It may contain affiliate links*.
Sacôtin published its latest pattern last week. It’s a hanging toiletry kit called Pavane.
I had already sewn toiletry bags, I had no intention onf sewing more, did I?
Except that I resumed knitting and I needed a bag instead of the grocery bag I put my knitting stuff into.
So I decided to sew a Pavane, but for my knitting stuff.
The Pavane pattern
Sacôtin is the best bag pattern designer I’ve come accross so far. I know that I will learn a lot. I don’t say it will be easy, but you will learn many things.
Pavane is available in medium and large (both sizes are included in your purchase).
It features a large 3D pocket and 2 zippered pockets that you can sew either in fabric or mesh or clear plastic.
Follow the instructions when it comes to choosing the fabrics: there are many areas where there are a lot of layers and your sewing machine may not like that.
Almost a Pantone 2024 Pavane!
Not Peach Fuzz, but a bright orange Pavane.
The waterproof fabric is from Petit Pan “Folksy”*. The solid is chino*. It’s slightly stretchy so I interfaced it (G700 is fine and sturdy).
I went with 2 clear pockets and a fabric 3D pocket.
Instructions are really good, but I struggled a lot with the 3D pocket. You have to be extremely accurate in your seam allowance (and I wasn’t!).
This pocket allows enough space for 3 Drops Karisma spools (and some extra space for a 4th).
I could have skipped the lobster clasp and D-ring since I don’t plan to hang the bag, but I wanted to have the look of it for future real Pavane toiletry kits.
One nice feature is having the strap fastened by a magnetic snap. No hanging strap when not in use.
This pattern is fastened by magnetic snaps of 2 sizes. I coudn’t find gold ones so I went with invisible sew-on magnetic snaps. Not bad, but less magnetic than the others. Not a problem with a knitting bag which carries light things, but could be a problem for a toiletry kit with heavy shampoo bottles, etc.
Helpful advice for you
I enjoyed sewing this pattern. Bag patterns are so diffrent from garment patterns and they might be challenging, which is good!
Sewing waterproof fabrics or clear plastic i.e. sticky fabrics
- Waterproof fabrics do NOT like heat. Don’t press! Spending a few hours under heavy books do the trick.
- No unpicking unlees you want ugly tiny holes. Think twice, sew once!
- Clear plastic is best sewn with a smaller needle size (70) and a long straight stitch (3.5).
Is your fabric stuck on the plate and/or the pressure foot? Here are a few options:
- tissue paper between the plate/foot and the fabric. It will be punctured by the needle and you may have to take tiny bits of paper off your seam line
- insert some scrap of fabric between plate and fabric, up until the seam line. Do not sew the scrap!
- use Teflon foot AND plate. I already knew about the Teflon foot, but I’ve only discovered recently that a Teflon foot and plate set existed for my Janome 6700P.
- a walking foot does help with topstitching.
Well, I’ve a top-down sweater to finish knitting and a new one to cast on!