I’ve not done any posts on any of my ‘makes’ and I’ve actually made a fair few things in the last year so thought I should blog about one of my favourites!

I’ve been doing hand sew decorations for years now, mostly with felt, and tend to make some Christmas decorations or baby mobiles for friends and family.
I then got into crochet and have started to try more complicated patterns and clothing.

I’ve always had a sewing machine but never had the confidence to actually make anything that I think I’d be able to wear.
I saw a few cute fabrics and fancied having a go at a simple romper pattern for Evander. They turned out ok so decided to try something else!

Once the Covid restrictions started easing a bit in autumn last year I saw some sewing courses from  Sew Confident in Glasgow and I saw they had a backpack making course and i thought that might be a good step towards making clothing.

The class included group tuition, the use of their machines and hardware for the bag and refreshments. Due to Covid we were asked to bring our own sewing kits but that wasn’t an issue as I had all the stuff.

I bought the pattern ahead of the class and chose some fabrics. I looked on Pintrest to find some inspiration and tried to work out what my compliment the main fabric I chose from SisterMintaka.
I did try to get some waxed canvas as per the patterns suggestion but there were delays in shipping so I ended up getting some last minute canvas for the bottom at Dunelm.

The class was great- very informal and relaxed. I think I expected the instructor to be making it at the same time as you and walking you through each step but he went around the 4 of us helping us individually with any bits we were struggling with. It worked better that way I think as everyone was working at their own pace.
I had a few teething issues with the machine settings so did a bit of unpicking to start with but the pattern was pretty easy to follow with some help and pointers from the instructor.

I didn’t quite finish before the end of the class but was talked through the last few steps to finish it off at home.
2 of the ladies finished theirs and one had started her second! Another lady was at about the same stage as me and we both finished them off when we got home and posted pics of the finisher product on social media.
I loved the end result and really happy with it! In fact  I’ve made another 2 since for friends and they’ve loved them. The pattern gets easier each time I’ve done it and it can be so flexible with different varieties of fabric choices so can really be an individual gift!