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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Creating my Etsy Shop Day 2 - Crafting My First Product


Today I was back at it! I decided that my first Etsy listing was going to be Humbug bags.  Humbug bags are cute little triangular pouches that have a corded handle and a zipper closure.  I made and sold 25 of them back in 2008 at a craft fair.  In 2008, I was using an adorable elephant print fabric that I machine-quilted.

I kept one elephant Humbug bag for myself, and I have been using it to store all of my Gameboy games and accessories since 2008! The bag has held up nicely over the last six years, so I am confident that Humbug bags are a reliable product to start with.
I wanted to make sure that my understanding of the pattern had not rusted too badly since 2008. I decided that I should start by making one single bag, so that if I encountered any logistical problems, I would only have one bag’s worth of seams to rip out. 

I was so glad that I made this decision as I somehow managed to misunderstand the directions and ended up with a Humbug bag with a handle sewn on the inside. Oops! 

Fortunately, I was able to work out the kinks and produce a cute sewing-themed Humbug bag.

I was then off to Jo-Ann fabrics to purchase 9 inch red zippers to make more bags.  While I was in the store, purchasing my zippers for $2.19 each, a woman suggested that I look into a company called Newark Dressmaker Supply. Apparently, they sell sewing supplies, including zippers, at wholesale prices.  I was grateful for this tip and happy to be reminded of how many friendly fellow-crafters there are out in the world! Upon returning home, I requested a catalog from Newark Dressmaker Supply. I will update this blog with my experiences using them as soon as I order something from them.

I was able to use the zippers to make 3 more bags and then call it a day.
So it looks like my next challenges will be creating product photography, listing the items on Etsy, and figuring out how to estimate shipping costs. I guess tomorrow will be a busy Etsy day! 

Feel free to check out my Etsy shop and all of the cat-themed things that I have favorited at www.etsy.com/people/PearTreeStitches 



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