Originally Posted by
joysewer
Very nice tote!!! I use Decor Bond in all my purses. Did you iron it on both sides? I iron it with the fabric on top first and then I turn it over, put a piece of muslin over it and iron that side also. I read somewhere before that fusibles need to be ironed on both sides. If it doesn't work, I turn my iron up a little more. I never have any problems with it not adhering. Of course, you can get a bad batch sometimes too.
Joysewer, thanks for the tip! No, I didn't iron it on both sides, but will do this the next time. I do prefer a fusible. Also, upon doing some more digging - I misunderstood what I was supposed to do to reduce bulk in the seam allowances. If sew in interfacing, take it to the edge of the fabric so it is stitched on, then trim down to just above the seam. With fusible, since it shouldn't be able to be trimmed down, I guess one would just make sure that the edges of it are caught in the seam line. I will be taking it to the edge of the fabric from now on. Duh, makes sense now! I was not a sewer before, so that is why this misunderstanding!
A little worried because when I turned the purse inside out (after sewing the lining and the bag together) - a rather large piece of the Decor Bond was loose. I apparently didn't get all the way around the edges with my stitch witchery - thought it was all tacked down. I did try to push everything back into the bag to smooth it out so I could reach in right at the top with a bit of the stitch witchery to get it tacked back down - but couldn't get it all back down smooth enough to allow for this. So I proceeded forward. No idea what will happen. Mostly the Decor Bond is tacked down around the edges. I suppose all will likely be okay unless my daughter ever decides she needs to wash the bag.
Oh well, adding more notes as to what I have learned thus far. If the bag fails, I will just make her another one! I think she will get enough use out of it before that happens. Will chalk it up to more learning experiences.