Working with Cork Fabric

So, I am not an expert in this - based on using it for one project.  However, I did a lot of research before buying it and watched quite a few videos on how to use it. You can really see that it makes a nice accent to this bag.  I also used some of the little scraps to make accent pieces.  This stuff is really easy to topstitch.  There is nothing there to fray. 

I recommend using a longer stitch length to top stitch this.  It just looks nice to have the bigger stitched.  You do not need a teflon foot.  That's ridiculous.  You can stitch with your basic feet.  No special needles either.  You want a sharp needle - I used a size 14 because it gets bulky when you are sewing through the piping and all the other layers. 

The finished bag seems like it's going to be nice and sturdy for the summer.  I actually always line my bags (unless I'm making something really special) with plain old felt and not stabilizer.  Why waste all the money for a simple bag like this?  It's really not worth it. 

I'm actually pretty proud of myself for using the plain sheet first.  My typical thing would be to use the one I really live (the blue fleck), screw it up, and then be really annoyed that I used up the best stuff first.  For an unintentional bag, I'm really happy with how this turned out.  I'm totally into this cork and I will be ordering lots more.  I'm thinking wallets for my dad and brothers for Christmas.  Probably try to apply some vinyl Cricut decals to it to see if that sticks. 

I was actually pleasantly surprised when I got this cork and I'm going to order more.  I bought the smaller sheets for the first try because I wanted to know what it was like.  It feels really flimsy, but it's not.  It's super flexible and easy to work with.  DO NOT IRON it.  Finger press only.  The cork is certainly glued down onto the mesh and when you iron it, you can smell the glue.  It smells terrible when it's hot.  I accidentally got it while pressing down my seams and it stunk.  

It's not hard to work with this cork fabric.  The weight it very light and pliable.

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