Monday Makers! #10 :)

Last week I decided to try a duct tape project - I hadn't worked with duct tape before, but judging by the pins I see online, it looked like it would be a fun craft. And - it is :D My first one was rather wonky so I kept adding layers of duct tape to hide my mistakes, HAHA. I also discovered that while you CAN sew a zipper to duct tape, it really does gum up your needle and requires frequent cleaning of said needle :D  Next time around I'll try alcohol on a cotton ball to clean the needle - I read somewhere that it will help with the gumminess :) 

Here's the zipper pull I added - I thought the skeleton was rather appropriate ;)

I recently bought a book called Sewing Stylish Handbags & Totes, because it had a monster backpack in it.  The book, despite the crappy pictures in the Amazon preview, is chalk full of fun and kitschy projects, so it turned out to be a great buy :)  The pattern pages are awful, though - two monstrous sheets of paper with pattern pieces overlaid on each other - dreadful.  The instructions don't tell you what to cut for each bag, or which pieces to use, nor are they very detailed.  I certainly wouldn't recommend the book to a beginner, but someone with some sewing knowledge would be able to figure things out.  This is officially my project for Monday Makers! #10 :)  It's going to be way too big for the little kids I want to make backpacks for, so I'll trial run the large version, then I'll probably shrink the pattern by 25(ish?)% for the kidlings.  Hopefully I like it better than the one I posted about last week, LOL.   A few more pics:

Bag top - outside (quilted) and lining (interfaced)

My new book - VERY cute projects!

 

I'm doing a simple version of the monster bag on the left - mine won't be reversible. 

Posting to Monday Makers! #10 :)