The last few days have been wet and miserable over here - the perfect excuse to immerse myself in another patchwork project... I saw some seaside-themed fabric in Dunelm and guessed that it would pull together all the stripy denim and checks from my fabric samples pile. I must confess that it took me ages to work out the width of the repeat in the pattern, and how I was going to create the patches.
I've never made a bag before in my life - and I didn't have a pattern - so it also took me ages to work out all the sizes and dimensions from another soft fabric bag. The final challenge was to work out how to fix the handles and lining. It took quite a lot of creative thinking during last Tuesday's thunder storm before I worked out that I had to stitch the first seam at the top of the bag THEN turn it inside out to finish off the top stitching!
This bag has excellent frugal credentials....
I've only used a third of the material I bought at Dunelm (about £1.50's worth)
This is the fourth project I've made out of the £10.00 pile of clearance fabric. There's still masses left so I'm guessing that these pieces are worth about £1.00.
The lining is inherited from my Great-Aunt's fabric stash.
The handles are made out of the back of an XL Denim shirt (M+S Blue Harbour - £1.00 clearance from a local charity shop. There's still loads of useful material left from this shirt so I'd guess that the handles cost me 50p)
I've done all my patchwork so far on an ancient Singer sewing machine that we inherited from Mark's Grandma. (I call her 'Sissy the Singer' because she's a sweet old lady who doesn't mind machining at my slow speeds!)
This bag is going on holiday with me shortly.
(I'm very excited about the prospect of a September holiday. Currently the weather in the area we're going to visit is a very pleasant 20-25 degrees, with sunshine and light cloud. I'm hoping that it's going to stay like that... I'm not looking for a heat-wave but some blue skies would be nice!)
To all the teachers out there... I hope that the start of the new school year is going well for you.
All the best,
Jx
That bag is lovely. And the frugal credentials make it impressive. And the fact that it's your first bag makes it sup-impressive!
ReplyDeleteYou clever clogs, working all that out. I'll admit that the first bag I ever did (a loooong time ago) wasn't lined, made up as I went along and very simple. I must get your email address if I can and talk some patchwork. Hope your weather fines up and take care.
ReplyDeletePerfect bag for a holiday. A gift for you to have the time to figure out the pattern when normally you'd be figuring out your school schedule. You're welcome to come to Minnesota. Apparently we are still in summer for September. You're bag would blend in well.
ReplyDeleteLove your bag, it will be perfect for your holiday.
ReplyDeleteBlimey you are doing really well with the patchwork - you must have a natural talent! I have to say I haven't missed going back to a new term at all!! Have a lovely holiday - you'll feel like a truant :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great bag I'm sure it will be useful for your holiday x
ReplyDeleteThat is impressive!! It looks splendid, it will be perfect for your September holiday. Luckily, my term is ok so far, got the entire recorder consort out to show my year 3's in their 1st recorder lesson!x
ReplyDeleteLovely colours very much a summer holiday bag, you did well to work it all out, there will be no stopping you now, I love the beach theme fabric with the other colours :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely bag. I have two similar soft fabric bags made from denim pieces
ReplyDeleteand they're really useful. Enjoy your holiday!
Love the nautical theme to your bag and the way you've used similar colours to complement each other.
ReplyDeleteWhat a jolly, summery, holiday-inspired bag! It's very nice and I'm sure it will help make your holiday even better! Well done.
ReplyDeleteYour bag's lovely, well done for working it all out. I love the fabric you've chosen it will be a fabulous holiday bag.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you're keeping busy. The bag you've made looks great and I'm sure there's plenty more creativity about to happen going forward.
ReplyDeleteOhh, lovely bag! I'm not very crafty but did make a few tote type bags for work ages ago, not patchwork though, that's out of my league! Charity shops are such a great source of fabric!
ReplyDeleteSchool not bad at the moment....
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the bag!