A Stitch In Time Saves Naptime
After my last post I realized I honestly had no excuse NOT to try my hand at making a project bag, considering I already had everything I might need in my craft room- and I had been plotting and planning ever since. Well, yesterday I woke up super early (who knows why these things happen- I like to think the universe was telling me it was time to be creative), and decided to just do it.
I found this super helpful Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial on Jeni Baker's In Color Order blog (I could easily get lost scrolling through all the fantastic posts- definitely worth checking out!) and I set to work.
Jeni writes in the tutorial that the best part is picking fabrics- and she was totally right! I have so many cute fat quarters I've been hoarding over the years, it made this decision a little challenging, but super fun. In the end, I was drawn to the Day of the Dead pattern (pretty sure it's Alexander Henry, but it's been a long time) for my main exterior fabric, and chose some contrasting pieces to make the flower colors pop.
The tutorial is crystal clear, and even though I haven't sewn in ages, I didn't feel overwhelmed at all- totally beginner friendly, which I love! The most challenging aspect of the whole project was finding the time to actually finish it. Atticus hung out in the craft room for a little while, but after he developed a fixation with my sewing peddle, it became obvious that this would have to be a nap time only project. So it got done in phases.
Phase One: Cutting
(And pressing, and pinning)
Phase Two: Sewing
(And whatever else I could get done during his afternoon nap)
Phase Three: Finishing Touches
SUCCESS!!!
I didn't have any ribbon on hand that I thought matched the bag, so I ended up taking the handles off a shopping bag I had lying around- worked like a charm!
The only mods I made were to make the bag longer (to fit more yarn in, naturally) and to use some medium weight interfacing on the exterior fabric. I don't know that this was necessary, and next time I'll probably just stick to the pattern. And yes, there will definitely be a next time. Starting and finishing a project in ONE DAY is super satisfying- I need to do it more often. There's always a knitting WIP that needs a home, and using up my fabric stash just means I have an excuse to buy more. That's totally how it works, isn't it?
I found this super helpful Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial on Jeni Baker's In Color Order blog (I could easily get lost scrolling through all the fantastic posts- definitely worth checking out!) and I set to work.
Jeni writes in the tutorial that the best part is picking fabrics- and she was totally right! I have so many cute fat quarters I've been hoarding over the years, it made this decision a little challenging, but super fun. In the end, I was drawn to the Day of the Dead pattern (pretty sure it's Alexander Henry, but it's been a long time) for my main exterior fabric, and chose some contrasting pieces to make the flower colors pop.
The tutorial is crystal clear, and even though I haven't sewn in ages, I didn't feel overwhelmed at all- totally beginner friendly, which I love! The most challenging aspect of the whole project was finding the time to actually finish it. Atticus hung out in the craft room for a little while, but after he developed a fixation with my sewing peddle, it became obvious that this would have to be a nap time only project. So it got done in phases.
Phase One: Cutting
Phase Two: Sewing
Phase Three: Finishing Touches
I didn't have any ribbon on hand that I thought matched the bag, so I ended up taking the handles off a shopping bag I had lying around- worked like a charm!
The only mods I made were to make the bag longer (to fit more yarn in, naturally) and to use some medium weight interfacing on the exterior fabric. I don't know that this was necessary, and next time I'll probably just stick to the pattern. And yes, there will definitely be a next time. Starting and finishing a project in ONE DAY is super satisfying- I need to do it more often. There's always a knitting WIP that needs a home, and using up my fabric stash just means I have an excuse to buy more. That's totally how it works, isn't it?
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