Beth contacted me about a pattern she had gotten from a friend to make tote bags. After my critter hiatus, I was ready to get back into functional fabric and I had scrap squares, so I gave it a go.
They seemed easy enough, and they were, but following a pattern has never been my strong suit and I messed up a few times, especially where the straps were concerned. I hate ripping seams, but I got a lot of practice when doing bags.
No fun little stories to report about the bags, except to say that the first thing I ever sold was a bag. It was actually the one I put the least amount of work into, but the fabric was music notes and some band geek (I say that affectionately) must have snagged it. Okay, that's not really a fun story, so how about this: Last night I found myself wishing that I looked younger. This morning I woke up with 4 pimples. Funny, Universe. I see what you did there.
If you do try to make these, I strongly encourage you to reinforce the straps with at least three lines of stitches. That's the weak spot, but once you take care of that these things will hold much more weight than you would imagine. Also, machine washable so you can carry, oh, say, transplanted irises in them. Versatile!
I made many a bag since I got the pattern. Quick to make, and easy to customize. I scaled down the pattern and made purses, too. Sadly, I don't have many pics of the bags that I made. Guess I didn't take them seriously enough to record them. Too bad, too, because some of them rocked.
They seemed easy enough, and they were, but following a pattern has never been my strong suit and I messed up a few times, especially where the straps were concerned. I hate ripping seams, but I got a lot of practice when doing bags.
No fun little stories to report about the bags, except to say that the first thing I ever sold was a bag. It was actually the one I put the least amount of work into, but the fabric was music notes and some band geek (I say that affectionately) must have snagged it. Okay, that's not really a fun story, so how about this: Last night I found myself wishing that I looked younger. This morning I woke up with 4 pimples. Funny, Universe. I see what you did there.
If you do try to make these, I strongly encourage you to reinforce the straps with at least three lines of stitches. That's the weak spot, but once you take care of that these things will hold much more weight than you would imagine. Also, machine washable so you can carry, oh, say, transplanted irises in them. Versatile!
I made many a bag since I got the pattern. Quick to make, and easy to customize. I scaled down the pattern and made purses, too. Sadly, I don't have many pics of the bags that I made. Guess I didn't take them seriously enough to record them. Too bad, too, because some of them rocked.
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