My second make of the year! and it’s a super practical bag made fun with spots! I made and wrote this post ages ago and then it’s taken me forever to get photos!
I’ve been making do with only one cloth bag to carry with me in each day to use instead of plastic bags. It works some days but then other days I find myself having to use the dreaded plastic bags and every single time it annoys me.
After the fire I managed to salvage some fabric the spots were amongst the ones rescued. It’s had to be heavily laundered so the once stiff lightweight canvas now feels more like super worn in jeans. Nice and soft handfeel but structurally the fabric and fibres are still ok.
I know I initially got the fabric from Spotlight (part of their cotton duck range) and had planned to make shorts with it at some point. In my new mindset of use all the good fabrics all the time I decided I wouldn’t use it for shorts that quite frankly would look ridiculous and never get worn but instead use it for something practical that will get used every day.
Naturally I researched some bag patterns but decided to just kind of wing it and based some of the measurements loosely on the Purl Soho tutorial which can be found here. Now winging it should always be encouraged but sometimes it bites you in the ass and there are a few sections of this bag which look less than 100%. Most noteably the top turn over. I measured and then folded it but didn’t press it and well it’s not exactly straight. But it works, it’s sturdy and I’m ok with things not always being a beacon of perfection.
I added an oversize pocket on the inside so I can throw my phone in there and not loose it to the bottom depths of my bags like I normally do and it will hold my public transport card for easy access too.
All seams are done as French seams to add a bit of strength and longevity to the bag.
Pattern: Made it up as I went along, some measurements from the Purl Soho tutorial
Fabric: From the stash (originally purchased at Spotlight)
Alterations or Changes for next time: Use the iron a bit more to get it looking a bit more organised on the inside
Julia
I’m with you on using the uber-cute fabrics for non-clothing items so they actually see the light of day. I used to be exclusively drawn to prints and never bought solid fabrics, but in the last year I’ve realized that since I wear 90% solid-colored clothing, that’s where I need to be putting my fabric money. unfortunately, that means that I’ve got a stash of prints that needs to be made into stuff that is not clothing. Fortunately, I have a niece and nephew that I can use as excuses to sew lots of cute stuffed animals out of fun prints, and nobody can ever have too many fabric shopping bags like yours. Problem solved! =)