[MINI-TUTE: A PLEATED POCKET by BertaBerta]

OH, I meant to ask - did you use a pattern for that one?

MINI-TUTE: A PLEATED POCKET by BertaBerta
(Featured on her yellow paisley purse)

"I made a template of the desired pocket shape, then I cut it in half and added a seam allowance.  Cut two of those from the main fabric.  Cut a rectangle the same height as the pocket from the pleat fabric.  Sewed the three parts together to make a looong pocket shape.  Folded at each seam and pressed it in hardcore, then matched the two folds up and flattened out the pleat panel and pressed again.  Now there's a proper pocket shape with a hidden pleat in it.

Topstitched the fold on each side of the pleat to keep it neat, then played with the pucker a bit - this is the hard part to describe...  If you hold both ends of one side of the pleat and curve them in towards the center a bit, they'll open the pleat up into an oval that kind of sticks out.  Do that to both sides of the pleat until you like how it looks, the topstich the top and bottom of the pleat to hold the pleat in that position.

Cut another piece of the main fabric, lay it over the front of your nice pleated panel, and sew around your seam allowance on the whole curved side, leaving the top open.  Turn the piece right side out and press again.  Now it's a nice pocket panel with a puckered pleat on one side and a smooth back and finished edges except for the messy top.  Use a rectangle of contrast fabric with all the unfinished edges turned under and pressed, then folded in half and pressed to bind the top of the pocket.  Topstitch the whole shebang onto your bag and there ya go."

Thanks for organizing, pizzacravings!  I had a lot of fun with this.

It's true love!
BertaBerta mixed all of my favorite things... yellow, black and white, paisley, mod prints... and it's like a hit of sunshine to the brain stem. 

The bag, modeled with some of my favorite yellow things:


The bag, modeled by my good friend James:


My favorite part of the bag, the adorable pleated pockets:


BertaBerta, thank you for making my first swap fantastic!  This bag is adorable and very well-constructed and all around wonderful.

Do you have one of them fancy sergers?  Or did you use stretch stitches on a normal machine?  I like to sew jersey and tee material, but I always feel like I can never get my stitches to flex enough.

And GREAT color, by the way!

Yeeh!  How strange to see something you made all the way across the internet.  I hope mr. birdy keeps you cheerful.

I think you're doing the right thing with providing both a dress form shot and a live action shot.  I like the action shots because they show the artist's personality, and if I'm buying something that's a bit of an investment (um, or more than 6 bucks), I want to remember from whom I'm buying.
Still love the snow, especially where it's falling, however, your photos look very blue to me.  It especially shows in the girl's skin.  You might want to warm them up with a little red or change the hue somehow to make sure that the clothing is the same hue it is in real life.

Uhmmm I want zippered cranberry RIGHT NOW.

wow I thought it was a 3 point swap 
Talk about overcrafting!

Ah phew.  I felt bad about what I sent when I saw everything you did!
In my defense, mine was made with all the love I could muster.

I'm just finishing my first swap now, so it will be a week or two before I can participate in another swap.  Maybe you want to hold off for now?

Oh god, I'd rather sew my head to the floor than study orgo.  Good luck with that!
Your little dresses are really cute.  Your model is brave.  It looks very cold out there.

Open up the gallery - I've received a loovely bag from Ms. Parler, and plan to get pics tomorrow to share.

hee!