New machine, new make up bag

I was lucky enough to have been given a new sewing machine for my 40th birthday (Dec 2012), so I just had to give it a go straight away.

I had asked for a Brother MS-5 (which, already seems to have been superseded!), nothing complicated or fancy. Until I know that I'm going to make some serious use of a machine, a bog standard one will do just fine.

So, what should I make? It was Christmas and snowy (and remember, we live up a hill) so going out to get supplies wasn't going to happen.







I already had some nice fabric - probably leftover from the previous Christmas, where I had made lots of gifts but been frustrated by the fact I could never get the tension right on my old machine.  And I found a zip in my sewing box.  My old make up bag was dirty and boring, so it seemed right to make a new one!








I don't quite know how, but I managed to make it so that it had a full lining and a French seam (at the time, I didn't even know what a French seam was - I learnt that a few months later from the TV programme, The Great British Sewing Bee).

The zip wasn't quite long enough, so I filled the gap with a fold of black ribbon, and because I wanted to test out the pattern stitches on the machine, I added a little pattern to it.

The only modification  I would make if I made another, would be to add some interfacing or quilting to make it slightly more sturdy.  It's a little floppy in general, but otherwise it is a really pretty addition to my dressing table.