How-to Tie the Fisherman's Knot

The Logan Bag is a drawstring bucket backpack with a continuous cord that closes the top opening of the bag and acts as the shoulder straps. Using the fisherman's knot to fasten the ends of the drawstring makes the shoulder straps adjustable.  

There is no one right way to tie the knot, and any knot that holds the ends of the string together will do just fine. But, I thought I'd share the fisherman's knot. It's my favorite knot for the Logan bag. After trying a few different knots, fancy and plain, I settled on this one as working best for me. 

I like the fisherman's knot for two reasons. First, it allows you to adjust the length of the shoulder straps.  Moving the knots a few inches lets you to wear the bag comfortably in many different ways. I usually lengthen mine to wear the bag across my body, but make them as short as possible to wear it on one shoulder. I can make this change on the move with this simple knot.  I also like it's low profile. It's basically two simple overhand knots, that are less bulky than a single know. The smaller knots naturally follow the pull of the drawstring. Even with the thick rope of the Standard Logan Bag the two small knots blend into the design of the bag. Of course, you'll want to trim final length of the drawstring to fit your body and preference.

Below you'll find a handy video tutorial that shows the adjustable straps in action, and how to tie the fisherman's knot. I've also got step by step photographs if pausing a video isn't your thing. I'm using the same drawstring that comes in the Hardware & Supply Kit for the Mini Logan Bag. 

How-to Tie the Fisherman's Knot

This image is really the key to the fisherman's knot. It is basically two overhand knots tied around the opposite string. 

When the knots are tightened you can pull the knots away from each other to shorten the loop of rope. 

Or pull the the strings to lengthen. 

Logan Bag Sewing Pattern

Head on over to the Wholecloth Patterns store to get your copy of the Logan Bag sewing pattern. 

Get the pattern!

The Logan Bag Hardware and Supply Kit has all the hardware, installation tools, and notions you'll need (including the drawstring) to make either the Standard or Mini Logan Bag. 

Get the kit!

Logan Bag Hardware & Supply Kit

The Logan Bag drawstring bucket backpack has quite the list of hardware and supplies. There is a snap front pocket,  zippered interior pocket, and eyelets along the opening. It's got a drawstring closure, and optional self made piping around the bottom. Heavy duty fusible stabilizer helps keep the shape of the base. I chose components that are easily sourced from craft shops and online suppliers, but you might not be able to find everything at one store. To make sewing your Logan Bag even easier, I've assembled a kit for one stop Logan Bag hardware and supply shopping. The components were selected with ease of installation and professional finish in mind. 

Standard Contents: 

2 heavy duty snaps (1 extra for practice)

1 snap tool

7” zipper

10 extra large eyelets 

1 eyelet tool

10” square of stabilizer

⅜” drawstring  

01 Piping Filler Cord

Mini Contents: 

2 heavy duty snaps (1 extra for practice)

1 snap tool

5” zipper

12 large  eyelets (2 extra for practice)

1 eyelet tool

6” square of stabilizer

1/4” drawstring 

00 Piping Filler Cord

The specialty tools needed to install the snaps and eyelets are included in the kit. A few common household and sewing tools are also necessary. You will need to have a hammer to install the hardware, x-acto knife to make the eyelet openings, a cutting mat or wood block to cut and hammer on, tailor's chalk for marking the placement of the hardware, a piping foot or zipper foot to make your own piping, and a heavy duty needle (such as 110/18 or 100/16) to make sewing through many layers of heavy duty fabric possible. It's also nice, but not mandatory, to have clips for holding thick fabrics together that might be difficult with pins. 

Get yours now!

Don't forget the discount!

The Logan Bag sewing pattern is 15% off until Friday, October 1st. Use the code LOGAN15 at checkout to get the launch week discount!

Get yours now!

Introducing the Logan Bag Sewing Pattern

The new

Logan Bag

sewing pattern is now available in the shop!

The Logan Bag

The Wholecloth Logan Bag is a drawstring bucket backpack. It has an easy access snap pocket at the front and a secure zipper pocket on the inside. There is a drawstring closure. The bag can be worn in many ways from backpack to cross body. The pattern come with two sizes of bag. The Standard size is designed to hold everything you need for a day out and about. The Mini will hold all the essentials like your wallet, phone and keys. 

The sewing pattern comes with 2 sizes of print at home PDF pattern, and clear step by step illustrated instructions for creating your bag. This pattern is written for heavy weight fabrics. We recommend 10 oz. canvas or similar. Lighter fabric can be used with the addition of medium weight interfacing. 

The pattern includes:

- step by step illustrated instructions

- print at home and assemble pdf pattern pieces 

- dimensions to draft your own pattern pieces 

- pattern and instruction to sew 2 different sizes of Wholecloth Logan bag.

Finished Bag Dimensions:

Standard: 10"x20"

Mini: 6"x12"

I've been working on this pattern little by little for most of the year. The benefit of the extended time in pattern development is that I've been road testing my bag for months. I love the hands-free convenience of wearing a backpack, and the reach-in accessibility of the drawstring top. It's a great everyday style. 

The bags shown here are made with 10oz cotton canvas. I didn't prewash it to maintain the stiffness of the new fabric. The rigid fabric, and a reinforced base, allow the bag to stand up for easy access, or working as a portable knitting basket. Lighter fabrics will have more slouch, and I recommend reinforcing them with medium weight fusible interfacing for the best result. The blocked construction of the exterior lends itself to highlighting a special print, or color blocking, or even a quilt square (stay tuned!). There are so many possibilities for customizing this bag. 

Logan Bag Hardware & Supplies

This bag calls for quite a bit of specific hardware and supplies. You can buy all of it at a craft store or online, but to make it as easy as possible to get behind the sewing machine I've put together a kit. The Hardware & Supply kit is one stop shopping for all the bits and pieces necessary to sew a Logan Bag. 

I'll be talking more about the kits later in the week. They are in the shop, and the quantity is limited, so get your Hardware & Supply Kit now!

Logan Bag Pattern Discount

Of course, there is a launch week discount. Use the coupon code LOGAN15 for 15% off the Logan Bag sewing pattern until October 1st. 

Get yours now!

I would love to see where you take this bag (physically  and aesthetically). Share you Logan Bag on Instagram with #wholeclothloganbag & #wholeclothpatterns. And tag me @_wholecloth.

SweetKM is now Wholecloth Patterns!

A new name for a new creative phase. I have felt the urge to grow for some time, but the name SweetKM was holding me back. It was a reflection of where I once was, but not of where I want to go. After wrestling with new names for a few months (okay, years!), I've decided to double down on a pattern name I really love, the Wholecloth Project Bag. Once the lightbulb turned on, the decision was simple. The name of my pattern line, website, and overall creative presence going forward will be Wholecloth Patterns!

What's ahead for Wholecloth Patterns: Moving forward I will be focusing on bag sewing patterns with simple lines, thoughtful details, and lots of potential for customization. To kick off this transition I've got a new bag sewing pattern in the works! Follow @_wholecloth on Instagram for sneak peaks, and as usual, you'll hear about any new patterns first as an email subscriber. 

What's ahead for the Wholecloth Blog: While I have been spending more time designing, and testing new bag and accessory sewing patterns, I will continue to do outfit posts here. Making my own clothing fuels my creative process, and I love to make and share. 

What's ahead for the Wholecloth Project Bag: A few growing pains are bound to creep into any transitional process. You may have noticed I changed the name of the Wholecloth Bento Bag to the Wholecloth Project Bag. I want to be genuine in all my interactions online and in person. The Japanese inspired name, that felt like a tribute when I first published the pattern,  was not a true reflection of me. It did lead me to the point where I would grow, change, and move forward. It's still the same great pattern, only the name has changed to be a better reflection of myself and my brand. 

I love to see what you've made, please use the hashtag #wholeclothprojectbag going forward and feel free to retag your previous makes. You can tag old and new projects with #wholeclothpatterns!

New blog:
www.wholeclothpatterns.com

Instagram:
@_wholecloth
 #wholeclothpatterns 

Pattern Store:
Wholecloth Patterns

Emailing List Signup:

Wholecloth 

Buy the namesake pattern!

 

Short, Shorter, Shortest: 3 Cropped Mandy Boat Tees

Looking for the most bang for my very limited sewing time, I made a trio of the Tessuti Fabrics Mandy Boat Tee. The Mandy is a super simple knit top with perfectly relaxed proportions. The swingy body, snug arms, and collarbone sweeping neckline make it my wardrobe refresh garment of the moment.  There are 2 sleeve lengths included in this FREE! pattern. I made size 2 (small/medium) for all 3 tops.   I added 1" to the 3/4 length option. The prescribed hem length is around hip length. I cropped mine at 3 different lengths to in search of my crop top ideal with high waisted pants. 

Short

Let's start with the short (which is actually the longest) top. This exercise was meant to be a bit of a length experiment. I knew I wanted cropped tees, but I wasn't quite sure how cropped. I was hedging my bets with the first top and cropped it 5". I pinned up this version to test drive the shorter lengths. After wearing it for a while, I think this one has scissors in it's future. It's a bit too long for what I had in mind. 

I'm wearing this Mandy with my very favorite self-drafted linen pants. 

Shorter

After trying on the Short version, I cut 2 more inches off the next Shorter top (shortened 7" total). I LOVE this length. It is clearly within the crop top trend but is still totally wearable, and covers all the bits of fairly modest me. This is definitely my cropped Mandy sweet spot. I'm not temped to tuck it in, and it works with my vast collection of high waisted pants and shorts. This will definitely be a warm weather staple. The navy and white stripe cotton jersey is (sold out) from Blackbird Fabrics.

I'm wearing this Mandy with some self-drafted linen shorts I made a few summers ago. 

Shortest

The Shortest top is actually the inspiration for the crop top exercise. I wanted to play with the clashing and coordinating qualities for the burgundy, crimson, and peach of the tencel skirt, and cotton jersey shirt fabrics. I also wanted the top to show a bit of the narrowest part of my waist to get the proportions that I wanted. I think the proportion and color results are spot on. I love the hint of narrow waist juxtaposed with the exaggerated width of the top. The thing I forgot to consider is what is just above this extra high waisted skirt, my boobs! In truth it falls a little short (pun intended) on the wearability scale. I worry I'm just a gentle breeze away from a wardrobe malfunction. I'll certainly wear it with this super high waisted skirt (and a presentable bra), but not with other pants. I think I have enough fabric to make another, slightly longer, one. And I'm not above making or owning 2 nearly identical shirts.

I'm wearing this Mandy with the self-drafted skirt from a couple posts ago. The crimson and peach cotton jersey is from Blackbird Fabrics. The tencel twill skirt fabric is from Fabric.com. 

Supply List:

T-shirt Pattern: Mandy Boat Tee by Tessuti Fabrics

Short:

Cropped 5"

Fabric: From my stash

Shorter:

Cropped 7"

Fabric: Navy and White Cotton Jersey (sold out) from Blackbird Fabrics

Shortest:

Cropped 9"

Fabric: Crimson and Peach Cotton Jersey from Blackbird Fabrics

Fibre Mood Norma Blouse & Self-Drafted Shorts

When I look at this outfit of Norma Blouse from Fibre Mood and self-drafted linen shorts, I wonder if I'm having a midlife crisis. The thought was buried deep in my subconscious when I put these things together, but I'm pretty sure I had this same outfit in high school. I definitely had a different version of the same watch (intentionally like my dad's work watch) in high school, and a different version of the same hair style. The top was probably more of a t-shirt than a blouse, the sneakers were probably a brighter color, and I certainly didn't sew any of it, but the combination feels eerily familiar. I'm not gonna dig too deep into the meaning of this repeat and just believe that you wear what you feel good in. 

I used to never wear anything I made until I had photographed and blogged about it. It sort of seemed too risky. I'm going to give myself credit for increased confidence in my ability to recreate anything that meets with a wayward splash of red wine, or that wire that sticks out on the screen door. I've been wearing these shorts since last summer, and this top has been the focus of at least 3 outfits since I finished it a few weeks ago. Black and white, it just goes with everything. 

The Self-Drafted Linen Shorts

The shorts are self-drafted. I've blogged about them in the past. It's just my wide leg pants pattern shortened in length and widened at the thigh. They are simple but exactly what I like to wear. If you've ever stopped by this space before, you don't need me to extol the virtues of custom fit pants again. This pattern was the best thing I ever did for myself. It has ruined me for ready to wear. 

The shorts are made with the leftovers from my Wiksten jacket. Its European Washed Linen from Fabric.com in a very basic black. It's medium weight and fully opaque, even with white undies. The interior finish is a testament to my love for this pattern. The pocket bags are bias bound with coordinating linen from another project as is the tag.  

The Fibre Mood Norma Blouse

The Norma Blouse by Fibre Mood was a pitstop on the puffy sleeve journey I took a few months ago. They billow in all the right ways. I did make a muslin, and as a result I raised the point of the neckline 1/2" and increased the width ever so slightly from underarm to hem. 

Like my last project, this Indian block print came from Rohiyan on Etsy. It's a loose weave cotton, and less than 2 ounces per square yard, making it billow nicely about the sleeve. The logical drawback is that it's a bit sheer.  I also made a hand stitched bandana with some of the left over. 

Supply List:

Shirt Pattern: Norma Blouse by Fibre Mood

Shirt Fabric: Indian Block Print from Rohiyan on Etsy

Shorts Pattern:Self-Drafted (Past shorts post)

Shorts Fabric: European Washed Linen in Black from Fabric.com