Corduroy bag

I've been slowly gearing up for handmade Christmas 2009, so this might be one of the last projects of the year that I make for me. For a long time I have been wanting to sew this bag, and I finally got around to it last weekend. The pattern comes from a beautiful sewing book called Simple Sewing, by Lotta Jansdotter. It is one of the rare books I actually bought, because I want to make everything. There's a great reversible apron pattern that is next on the list of things to sew for me.

I think the most painful part of the whole bag making experience was standing in line for 40 minutes at JoAnn Fabrics on Labor Day. I still don't know if it was worth the 10% off. Anyway, I love corduroy so it seemed the obvious fabric of choice for me. She used denim, which probably was a better choice, as my bag ended up a little floppy.

There was no template, the pattern simply called for using a yardstick to draw the pieces directly onto the wrong side of the fabric. Sounds easy enough, but took forever. I know we had a yardstick before we moved, but who knows where it ended up. At mr's suggestion, I ended up using my straight edge (only 12" long) and a measuring tape. Ever tried to use a measuring tape to draw a straight line? It was a challenge, at best. Eventually, all the pieces were cut. I also threw a layer of canvas on the sides and bottom of the bag (interfacing) to provide some extra structure.

The sewing went very smoothly, the directions were easy to follow and I had no problems. I did a little hand basting, with the two outside pockets, but the rest was all on the machine.

The last seam was sewn with the bag basically inside out and the handles sandwiched in between. The pattern said to leave a 4" opening to push the whole thing through. Of course, mine ended up being about 3", so the pushing was a bit of a challenge, especially with the extra layer of canvas.

And here's the bag! I made longer handles so it could hang off my shoulder. The outside pocket on the side fits my coupons perfectly. I love it!

Plus, lucky me, cute kitty stood guard and helped!

I still need to sew closed the 3" opening. Right now, breakfast calls. I bought bacon at the grocery store this week and I'm making homemade buttermilk biscuits. Gotta love Saturday...