Hi, everyone! It's Crystal again from the Cloth Albatross. Today is the final day of the sew-along (SAL) but it will remain up on the Blue Calla blog indefinitely and you will still be able to enter for prizes until Tuesday July 12th. If you missed the prize announcement, you can find that here along with links to the previous days in the SAL.
Today we're going to be attaching our lining to our exterior, installing our grommets, and adding the drawstring. If you haven't read the post on grommet yet, take a look at it here.
After you've attached your lining to your exterior and topstitched, it's time to punch holes for the grommets.
Depending on your grommet's post length, you may need to punch smaller holes on the side panels than you do on the main panels. The reason for this is that the side panels do not have Peltex, so they're thinner and a bit stretchier than the main panels.
After you've determined what size you need your holes to be, punch your holes.
After you've punched your holes, retrieve your grommets and setting tools. From the exterior side of your bag, push the exterior portion of your grommet (the side with the longer post) into one of the holes.
From the lining side of your bag, place the washer* side of your grommet around the post of the grommet portion that you're still holding in place.
*some grommets have an inner ring that has a bit of a post on it, so it won't look like a washer, but it will be the side with the shorter post
Get your anvil (the doughnut shaped metal thing with your setting tools), and place the exterior portion of your grommet in the circular ring.
Get your setter and push it into the center of the interior portion of your grommet.
On a hard surface, firmly hammer your grommet together. This will cause the grommet's post to wrap around the washer and hold it into place.
Repeat for all 12 grommets.
After your grommets are installed, thread your drawstring through your bag and cord stop, and your bag is finished! Stand back and admire your work!
Thank you for following along with the SAL. I hope that you found it helpful! Please be sure to share your progress pics in the Blue Calla Facebook group or on Instagram with the hashtag #dahliasal. You have until Tuesday July 12th to enter your finished bag for the SAL prizes. A winner will be picked randomly from all submissions on Wednesday July 13th.