A Popcorn Bag and the Art of Hiding Mistakes

After completing almost 80% of my sister’s popcorn bag at the end of last month, I finally finished everything last week. Honestly, I wasn’t as proud as I had been during that last 80% progress because I made some noticeable blunders on the lining and the zipper. But considering how this was my first full bag with a complete lining and a zipper… well, I can still accept that.

So, my first mistake: cutting the lining fabric too long.

Because I cut the fabric longer than needed, there were some painfully obvious excess bits once it was sewn inside the bag. The result bugged me so much I almost ripped the whole cloth out and started over from scratch.

But I eventually convinced my impatient self to let it sleep for a night. The next morning, I let my magic hands hide the excess fabric and made the bag look way more “naturally normal” than it truly was.

Perfect. I saw the opportunity to hide it, and I took it. My sister should be proud (or… maybe not).

If the lining mistake was a minor blunder, the major one came knocking when I worked on the zipper.

At first, I was really proud of finding a purple zipper that looked pretty with the lilac popcorn bag. But the sewing method I followed didn’t cover the back stitches! And because the zipper and yarn were completely different colors… let’s just say the contrast was painfully obvious to the eye.

Or see for yourself:

But again, I found a way to hide it. I just couldn’t stop lamenting the fact that I was thiiiiiiiiis clooooooooose to making it perfect. If only I hadn’t cut the lining fabric too long, or if only I had used a different yarn color… Okay, maybe not that close—but I did almost believe it would turn out super pretty.

Thankfully, my sister didn’t mind as long as all the chaos was only visible on the inside. So I sent the bag to her anyway, along with a little Christmas card because I thought it would be cute.

In the meantime, if you’re wondering what my next project will be… I’ll just say you better watch out. I’m making something for my mom—and since she’s a little judgmental (haha kidding!), I need to make something really good both inside and out.

P.S. I used this tutorial video on YouTube to sew the zipper. It’s an easy-peasy method to attach a zipper to your crochet bag—just remember to use a yarn color that actually matches it.

If you like this post, you might also want to check out my Crochet Journey.