I had a really rough go at my first attempt at the Fennel Fanny Pack by Sarah Kirsten. My frustrations stemmed from using too large of a seam allowance when I sewed the zippers on, and spiraled from there. SO, TAKE NOTE — When you sew the zippers, make sure you try the pieces up to the other pieces that are the same size to make sure you didn’t use to large of a seam allowance. It WILL make it more difficult if the pieces are too small. And if you’re using metal zippers it will make it even more difficult. But also, just give yourself a lot of grace the first time around because what I’ve heard is that it’s a challenge for a lot of sewists. It’s a BEAUTIFUL pattern, and popular for a reason. Just know that you are not alone if it doesn’t go perfectly.
Remember how I said mine spiraled? Well after I sewed the zippers, I ended up sewing the zippers on going the opposite direction, seam ripping after almost EVERY. SINGLE. STEP, seam ripping a hole in the fabric, and then poorly mending said hole, then completely skipped the binding on the inside and serged it instead. There were a few people who said they just cut their seam allowance down really small, and that made the inside binding a bit easier.
I love every single Fennel Fanny Pack that I’ve seen, so I WILL try again. Eventually. Maybe when we can go out and travel more in the future. This gorgeous fabric (plus the webbing and matching thread) is from Style Maker Fabrics. The hardware was all from Wawak.
Happy ending: I sent this to my friend (my husband’s co-worker) as an appreciation gift, and she LOVED it! AND get this — it wasn’t supposed to get there until a couple days later, but it got there on her birthday! I didn’t even know it was her birthday! Her birthday is my birthday too!!…..Okay universe. I see you.
This is why I still love blogs. Thank you for sharing your experience, I was beginning to think it was just me and ready to throw the whole lot in the bin!
I’m so glad this helped you not feel so alone, even though it means you are frustrated with it too! I hope you can push through and just do the best you can! Good luck. xo
I’m so glad I came across your blog! I just started bag making. This is my 3rd pattern. The other 2 had tutorials so I’m finding this one a challenge. I will persevere thank you for your tips and your story, parts of it made me chuckle 😃
Hi Liz! I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to respond. But thank you so much for your kind comment! I hope you were able to finish your Fennel Fanny Pack with minimal frustrations. I’m a very amateur bag maker, so I probably should have had more practice before diving into that pattern. 😆