Now is where my past experience in assembling the bag comes in handy.
There are itty-bitty little things to create...the pattern has you do these as you assemble the bag; I like to do them before I assemble the bag to make it go quicker.
And a few tricks I've learned along the way...
Piping
There are no other words to say it...piping is not fun....and there is nothing you can say or do to make me change my mind.
The first bag I made with the store-bought stuff...it was OK and got the job done.
The next bag I used a coordinating fabric to make piping...it was a severe pain-in-the-rear experience, but it definitely made the bag.
Two things I learned:
Use your zipper foot, unless you own a piping/cording foot (I don't).
Wonder tape is your best friend...just go ahead, lay that cording down the center of the strip,
and put it all together with Wonder Tape before your start...works perfectly!
Something I might consider next time:
Cutting the strips a bit bigger, maybe 2 inches...a little bit more fabric to grasp.
Handles
Two changes for me...and I will never handles for this bag any other way.
I cut the straps at 3 inches versus 2.5 inches...not a large difference, but makes a nicer product.
I put nylon belting inside the handles instead of interfacing...no wimpy handles here!
D-Rings
D-rings?
Yup, I put D-rings inside the outer pockets....because it's my bag, and sometimes I might want to carry it over-the-shoulder with a longer strap.
Not hard...two strips of fabric...1/4 inch turned under on the edges...fold lengthwise...and add in D-rings before stitching sides down.
Easy-peasy.
Bag Bottom
Did you know that fabric is heavy? No, I mean really, really heavy....and at one time or another, this bag will need to carry fabric...lots and lots of fabric.
Thus, I didn't use the instructions for the Weekender Bag for this part. I wanted the bottom to be a bit more reinforced, plus I wanted to protect the bottom of the bag from dirt if all possible.
First thing...there is a pattern correction for the Weekender Bag bottom on Amy Butler's website...go there...read it...change your pattern in red ink so you always have it.
My process:
Peltex cut to the revised size, centered on your bottom fabric, and fused.
Plastic grid cut to the revised sized, aligned with the Peltex, and held in place with tape.
Bottom stands added at 1.5 inches squared on each corner and aligned in the center (6 total).
Most of the work for the assembly of the front is done...next I'll start piecing it together.
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