Bag stitching help

[jrstubs]

I've been stitching for a bout 3 weeks and all I have made was 4 panels, Alot of 4 panels. I made 25 4 panels, heres a picture of one:



They are coming out really nice now, a tiny bit bigger than golf ball size. I stitch really tight and I use floss as thread. (i've done a test, the fabric broke before the floss did) I use quikrete fine sand



Its not this play sand, but its about the same grain., none of it falls out.

I just bought some crushed panne to make more 4 panels, but I want to move on to 32 panels or 12, 14, whatever.

could anybody explain to me how you make your patters, cut them out, how deep to sew, how much gather, etc....

It would really help alot, so if you can help, thanks.

[RawSko]

check the stitching stickey at the top of this section of the forum. it should help you get started...

[brinard]

all those secrets are really just peoples opinions.

i stitch aboout 1/8 inch in from the panels edge. i dont gather tight.

i made a template using the pattern generator at the top of the bags section. then i glued it to a cd, and cut it out for a plastic template.

i draw on my pattern using an ink pen. then i cut them out carefullly.

the best advice to make nice bags is

DO EVERYTHING CONSISTANTLY

if you do that, your bag will end up fine.

[vettehunter123]

Is it possible to finish this bag? I think I messed up how I stitched the panels together and now I have this. I still have 2 hexes but I don't know where to stitch them in, or if I've already messed it up too bad.



Help would be appreciated

[brinard]

i wouldnt finish it. too confusing.

stitch only on the pents. start and end 12 times, and you have a bag.

[jrstubs]

I accidentally sewed too deep and made this super duper mini

[Wasabi]

Travis, it's possible to finish up your bag, but it wouldn't be as good as a normal bag through break-in because you'll have an excess amount of holes. What you messed up on is that you left a lot of incompleted pents without any hexes surrounding them to complete a plethora of "flowers." What you can do is unstitch the pents you have on the right side to find out how many hexes you have on the bag, apply a pent, and try to have 5 hexes surrounding that pent when you stitch.

To clearly understand what I mean, you can take a look at your bag on it's left side. Look how many hexes are exposed! What I see there is about 4 hexes, so as you attach a pent there, you'll only need to apply one hex to complete a flower. But first thing first, you'll need to disconnect those pents on the right and sort out what you need to do.

If there are too many holes to work with, or the facile is too worn out, replace it with a fresh batch to replace what you have. Hope this helps.

[Chim-Chim]

For 32s.

I stitch 8 holes on the longer sides of the hex, and 6 on each side of the pent.. about 1-2 mm from the edge of the fabric.

Stitch evenly, make sure your gather is consistant. I like a tight gather, but that all depends on your template size and stitching technique. Some people hardly use any gather, but the bag is more prone to get holes quickly. Gathering after each side is stitched with one hole through the next hex seems to be the easiest way for a uniform gather - and it's very fast.

Nylon Upholstery thread is my preference. I highly recommend it.

Experiment, and take your time placing stitches until you develop a system.

Good luck!

[Mowley]

Gathering after each side is stitched with one hole through the next hex

Thats how i gather but how do you get the like "vally" look between your seams?

[vettehunter123]

Thanks for the help Waylon but I think this bag is done for. I tried restitching my pents and it worked for a while, but then it just fell apart. Plus its really small and the stitches are breaking. It's ok though because I learned a lot and I will start a new one when I can get my hands on some facile. Thanks again.

[Chim-Chim]

a tighter gather + even stitching.

[vettehunter123]

Alright I tried a tighter gather but now my hexes are really wrinkley and small.
Gather:

Wrinkles:


Does anyone know how to reduce the wrinkles or do I just have to get more experienced in stitching for them to go away? Thanks for the help guys.

[Drew Hamilton]

Just don't pull so tight, your stiches should be close, you don't need tightness for the sand to not fall out.

[Drew Hamilton]

And make the stiches more uniform in the places they go, put a binder clip in a line and you should get a straight line.

[Wasabi]

Actually, you're on the right track. Just try stitching more evenly on both the hex and pent side and keep that running stitch straight. When you gather, try to place them evenly separated. When you fill the bag and finish stitching up at the end, the panels will behave accordingly with some hand kneading.

Sand isn't good for the 32-panel stitching method that most people use on this site (especially due to the bleed holes). Poly Pellets and shot is the basic stanard for fill in bags.

[vettehunter123]

Yea I didn't use sand, I used lead shot. I see what you mean by just flipping it out and massaging the bag make a lot of the wrinkles go away. Thanks Waylon. Check it out. #2

[shred villain]

wow that bag looks great! i really like the colors too. keep up the good work.

[vettehunter123]

Thanks Erik

Hey can someone post some pictures of their gather when your bag is flipped inside out? I'd like to compare it to mine because I think mine is too tight. Thanks!