Week 1 Sew-Along - Let the fun begin!

Well here we are, finally about to officially begin the first Sew-Along.  I am incredibly excited about this whole project and look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.  There is a Flickr group started for you to up load your projects or progress shots. 

So, week 1 is all about Cutting out the fabric.  And good God there is a lot to cut out.  To help with the process, there is the Elizabeth Hartmann approved cutting checklist and labels.  If you don't have it, please just leave a comment with your email address and I shall forward you one immediately.  I have found it INVALUABLE.  There are a lot of pieces, of very similar sizes, and you will easily get confused.  The only fabric not included on the checklist for cutting out, is the batting for the exterior pockets, and the "scraps" or pieces used to quilt up the pockets.  The scraps might be quite literally from your scrap collection and are totally unique to you.

So above you see just some of the pieces cut out for my bag, and the wonderful cutting checklist provided by Kate. Oh. So. Many. Pieces.  I advise you to take your time, lest you get confused. Start at the beginning and work your way through slowly.  Oh, and perhaps drink a restorative ale or two whilst doing it.  I took about 5 hours to cut all my pieces out.  And happily, only made one cutting mistake (I think this counts as some sort of record for me, both in time and errors).  If you are using primarily plain colours, you will have no issue at all; if you have a directional print, you may have issues if you are concerned about the way prints end up.  My exterior and lining both are directional prints, and did not really consider them.  So my prints will either be the right way up, or sideways.  Sideways I can live with, upside down, not so much! If you can't live with sideways, you may need to consider purchasing more fabric.

Good luck and see you with pieces at the ready for Week 2 when we begin sewing.