I'm having Bag fever this week! I have made another bag based on 3 store-bought bags that I already own. I amalgamated the features I like in the 3 bags, used scrap fabrics and hardware from my stash, designed and drafted my own patterns for the different bag pieces, and voila!
I used scrap black denim for the outside, created a small zipper pocket with the same denim for keys, and topstitched the ouside with orange threads. For the inside, I used an icy orange linen as lining, created another zipper pocket with the linen, as well as 2 pouches inside to store little things like cell phones. And the bag has a zipper on top because I don't want things to fall out! It's big enough for my water bottle and a National Geographic magazine. It's denim so it should be a 4-season bag!
I'm really happy with this because I just studied the store-bought bags, and created my own designs/patterns for it, and it's perfect for what I need! Of course there are things I can improve on (e.g. the top zipper could be done better, the topstitching could be straighter, etc) but this is giving me so much confidence in bag making that I think I will make some more!! (lol)
As for the leopard tote I made previously - I 'test wore' it and I'm not happy with it. First I'm used to cross-body bags that leave both my hands free in case of a fall (icy winter roads and my pregnancy clumsiness). Second, the leopard fabric is a soft apparel fabric scrap which doesn't hold the bag shape well even though I have interfaced it. Perhaps I need to interface it with buckram. I'll try again and see if I could do better with that leopard fabric!
I see you have been a busy bee! I like both the denim and the leopard bag that you made. I am amazed that you can just make something by looking at a store bought version!
You have inspired me to pick up a craft hobby. Now I just have to figure out which one and how to start. How and when did you start sewing?
Posted by: sassy girl | 01/22/2009 at 01:21 PM
Hi Sassy Girl! Thanks for visiting my blog again!
As for starting a craft hobby -- I started sewing by hand only (some needles and some threads, plus a small amount of fabrics). After a few months of sewing by hand (sewing easy things like cushion covers, etc), I realized that I liked it enough to buy a second hand simple sewing machine. And then I borrowed books from the library to improve on my sewing skills. And then moved on from there.
You don't want to spend too much money on equipment/tools when you first start a craft hobby, because you don't know if you will like it or not. I think knitting is pretty cheap to start because all you need is really a pair of needles and some yarn, plus some beginners' books from the library (free!!).
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes, okay?
Posted by: Lovenicky | 01/23/2009 at 12:37 PM