A Tale of two bags

Christmas break is officially over, so it’s back to work for me! Over the break I started several projects, including two bags. One turned out really well, and the other is more eh.

First up is my swanky new purse. The midnight blue and black graphic flower combo gives this a bit of an Asian feel to me. It’s prefect for winter.

To make this, I used one of those tyvek feeling reusable bags. I liked the length and width of the bag, so I just used scissors to cut the top down a bit and give it some shape. Next, I covered the entire bag in strips of duct tape. I used my rivet setter to add rivets to the top and sewed on my ribbon handles.

Finally, I added a ribbon strung through a vintage belt buckle to the middle of the bag. Easy Peasy!

My other bag was not as big of a success, but I still like it. I gave my new sewing machine awhirl to create this little case for my new camera. I started by wrapping felt and fabric around the camera to determine how large the bag needed to be.

Next, I layered the felt and fabric and folded them in half with the wrong sides facing out. Notice that the printed fabric is longer than the felt. I sewed down the side of the fabric and across the bottom. After this, I turned the little bag right side out.

To finish it off, I trimmed the fabric across the front of the bag, folded it to the inside, and sewed it to the felt. I left the fabric long on the back of the bag, to form a flap. I hand sewed the blanket stitch to finish the raw edges of the case. I’m sure there are much better (and more correct!) ways to do this kind of project, but it works for me!

The felt lining is a little rippled on the inside of the bag, but for a very first solo machine sewing attempt with no pattern, I’m OK with the results. I finished part of another little sewing project today, and it turned out much better. This gives me hope that I will indeed improve at this whole sewing thing. Maybe one day I’ll be as handy with a needle as I am with a roll of duct tape!

I have a really, super fun project to show you tomorrow. It is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made so I’m a little too excited about it!

Oooh, just for fun, do you sew? If so, what was the first project you attempted? How long did it take you to feel really comfortable using your machine?

<3
Hattie

p.s. I'm linking this to DIY Day in case any other grown women think the idea of a duct tape bag is awesome!