Sew Stylish with ByAnnie.com!

Welcome to October and a new Island Batik Ambassador challenge!

This month, the theme is “Sew Stylish” and Ambassadors were challenged to create a pattern from ByAnnie.com using Island Batik of Lumin Fabrics fabrics.

For my project, I chose “Sidekick” which is a saddlebag organizer that has lots of pockets for storage and is made for use with either a chair or a walker.

I thought this would be perfect for my Mom to use with her walker to carry various items. Big thanks to ByAnnie.com for providing all of the notions needed to make the Sidekick pattern: strapping, Soft & Stable, hook and loop tape, fold-over elastic, and more!

I was really pleased with the final result but there were times when I felt a bit overwhelmed by this project and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it successfully. I’m not a bag maker. My previous bag experience was making a pouch project so this was a big step out of my comfort zone but that’s what challenges are all about, right?! 😉 Thanks to the excellent instructions in the ByAnnie.com pattern and the Add-on Videos for this pattern, I was able to persevere and I’m thrilled with the result.

Sidekick front

Sidekick back

One of the hardest decisions I had to make for Sidekick was the fabric. It required only three fabrics and I chose these from the new Everlasting collection by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik of Lumin Fabrics.

As I worked along, I had some help from one of my purry assistants, Salem. She made sure that I was on track and progressing well but she didn’t get to use part of Sidekick for a cat bed even though she tried to stake her claim! 🤣🐈‍⬛

When making Sidekick I used my Oliso M3 Pro Project iron. This small craft iron was perfect for getting into small areas to keep everything pressed well. I also used Schmetz needles when quilting and stitching the project. For stitching I used polyester thread for its strength and also because I had lots of different polyester thread colours which I needed as I frequently switched thread to match the various fabrics in this project.

Here are a few images of my progress in making Sidekick.

I learned a lot making this project: how to make two zippers from one zipper; how to attach fold-over elastic, how to work with mesh, and more. I know that I’ll be able to use these new skills when making future bag projects.

And, if I wasn’t sure that my Sidekick project was successful, I only had to ask Salem. I think she approves!

For more details on Sidekick and tips for working with this type of pattern, watch my video.

Thanks to Oliso, ByAnnie.com, Schmetz, and Island Batik of Lumin Fabrics for the items that they sent me that allowed me to create this month’s project.

There will be many more projects coming from the other Island Batik Ambassadors this month. I’ll be adding the other Ambassador projects to my Pinterest board so be sure to check that out so you won’t miss out on their fabulous creations.

You can find out more about the 2025 Island Batik Ambassadors and the projects that they will be working on this year on their websites below.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs

Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting

Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Tina Dillard - Quilting Affection Designs

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany

Kimberly Flannagan - Kimberlys Quilts

Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts

Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts

Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs

Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River

Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood

Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights

Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion

Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique

Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail

Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color

Solomae Stoycoff - Cuddle Cat Quiltworks

Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations

Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

Be sure you’re following me on Facebook so you won’t miss out on what I’ll be creating next with Island Batik fabrics!

Note: The products featured in this blogpost were given to me by Island Batik and their sponsors. Thank you!

#islandbatik #islandbatikambassador #loveislandbatik #olisoconnects #createwitholiso #sewstylish #schmetzneedles #byannie #patternsbyannie #luminfabrics