Tuesday, August 18, 2009

(sigh of relief) don't look, Lori.



After much angst and re-doing, Lori's messenger bag is {finally} {thankfully} {for betterly or for worsely} done. I have a reasonable expectation that her surprise won't be ruined by this post, because I'm pretty sure none of my family reads my blog. Besides you, Chelsea. ha. I'll be giving this to her in a week or so when I'm in H-town again.


I'm finally pleased with it. My husband has been shaking his head at me for weeks, saying stuff like 'how many hours are you going to sink into this thing anyway?'. He doesn't understand the tortured artistic journey within the soul, obviously. The other night as he watched me rip off the bias binding that I decided I didn't like, he quipped "I sure hope she likes this bag." And I replied sweetly, "IT'S NOT ABOUT HER ANYMORE" as I stabbed the flap with the seam ripper.


Anyhoo, it's done. Why did I line it with green? I think it has to do something with the fact that I cut the lining out at the beginning of the process when there was a completely different flap design and also green bias binding. But I like it. Or maybe that's just the apathy speaking.

I added a little snap key holder on the inside because it is so useful. Also, because it would cover up the unplanned tuck in my lining. I'm happy to report that this snap experience was stress free.

Instead of just trucking along from memory like usual, I tried to follow my own tutorial for the messenger bag to double check it. I didn't deviate from my tutorial to construct this bag except for these three things:
  1. I used bias binding for the flap, so I trimmed off the flap seam allowance to do that. I didn't have to turn the flap.
  2. Since my pockets were not lined with a contrast color this time I cut out one big piece for the pockets and folded it in half to sew together instead of having two separate pieces.
  3. I made the strap a bit longer for my sister, at her request.

The only thing I ran into that I ended up changing on my tutorial was to make the flap .5 inch shorter. I didn't change it for this bag, it works ok if you are careful to measure correctly. Still, the bag flap comes a wee bit too close to the bottom of the bag for comfort, and I thought there should be some room built in for error. That is now changed on the tutorial, so update your flap measurement to 12 x 13.5 inches.

37 comments:

  1. This is just the cutest bag ever, love it. Loved Ballykissangel, so sad when Assumpta died, would have much prefered a happy ending.

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  2. Wow! It looks great. Definitely worth the pain. I'm not much into messenger bags, but this one is so pretty. The applique on the front really makes the bag. Oh, and I am swooning over that green inside. I love green... always a good choice in my book.

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  3. I love it! If Lori doesn't appreciate it, you can send it to me. lol.

    The key snap is a great idea! :)

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  4. What a totally awesome bag! If she doesn't love it, she's nuts. :)

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  5. It looks awesome! I love the key snap. I added a key clip to the one I'm making, but the snap is much cooler looking.

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  6. that's awesome! i love it! if lolo doesn't like it i'll be more than happy to take it off your hands. i like to call myself a philanthropist of sorts... except instead of bestowing generous donations i accept them wholeheartedly. pretty much the same concept, right?

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  7. Love it! I particularly love the little touch of beading. Too cute!

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  8. very cute, and the green inside is wonderful! i too have a husband who just doesn't understand :)

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  9. looks great!!!
    My other half walked through the sewing room and yelled
    "Too Many Projects!!!!!!!!"

    i don't know what he was talking about...

    v8

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  10. Love, love, LOVE the patchwork leaves. Absolutely gorgeous.

    The green is perfect, in my humble opinion.

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  11. Hey, everybodeeeee, thank you thank you.

    Susy, yes I totally agree. I can't forgive them for not letting her ride off in the sunset with Peter.

    Chels, Aunt Lolo WILL love it. End of story. I refuse to think of any other reaction. It's very philanthropic of you to offer to accept it though. (blinking away tears) You are such a giver.

    Olivia, not beading, but french knots. I did consider adding beads at some point. Actually I'm not sure there is anything I didn't consider adding at some point.

    v8, we'll just continue to shake our heads at their adorable crafting handicaps.

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  12. Very nice. I need to make something similar for myself for fall. It looks like the perfect size for me and my stuff. What type of material do you use for the main body? Do you use any interfacing?

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  13. Dear Larissa,

    it looks so very beautiful and will be liked by Lori no doubt about that!

    Very very pretty!

    Nina

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  14. CUTE BAG!!! I want one! :D So are the leaves/flowers appliqued on or is it underneath and then top fabric cut out?? I have never done either method so wondering what would be involved.

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  15. alice232,
    the main body was a very low cost canvas weight woven cotton. It was still a bit flimsy, so i used some interfacing on the bag body, strap, and flap.

    CJ,
    the leaves were appliqued on top. I used Heat N Bond lite to adhere them and then sewed a zig zag stitch around the edges. Easy!

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  16. Helloooooo...what's up with the Ballykissangel spoilers, ladies? :)


    Larry, the bag turned out really pretty. I can just see diapers, wipes and some really special custom bibs and burps tucked down inside...ahem. Great work as always!

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  17. It looks amazing - and aren't husbands funny (mine says similar things).

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  18. Robyn, oops...didn't know you were watching the series. Sorry! Now you won't have such a nasty shock like I did though.
    I'm totally going to ignore the passive aggressive diaper bag stuff. for now.

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  19. Love the bag. I've just finished 2 for my kids...back to school. See them at my blog, if you're interested. www.akirthing.blogspot.com

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  20. Looks great! I also just finished 2 bags last night with last minute button stitching this morning. Whew! I followed your tutorial and will post in my blog tomorrow if I get the chance to take photos of them. My twins wanted the bags to walk around the house as soon as I showed the bags to them! Thanks again for the great tutorial.

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  21. surprise! your "craft-bitter" sister looks to marvel at such patience and talent. Exactly how many hours DID you put into this?..better get started now on September birthday girl! If you want a tip for a November birthday...BLACK, WHITE, HOT PINK and sparkly! :-)

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  22. whoa...is that YOU, Libby? Wow. Who knew? Sept bag! Yikes! November bag...oy. so you want one too? I doubt Leigh would use it, though. I'll ask.

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  23. nah..you can sew Chelsea a dress instead! :-)

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  24. Hi Larissa, I am just getting ready to make two of these bags for my twins who are 7... only they are more like 5 years olds in size. It is tough to get a sense of size. Will this drown them? I am making them for school bags. I figured I could easily fuss with the length of the strap... but just wondering about the size of the bag. cheers, Calli

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  25. Calli (makeitdo), the finished bag is about 12 inches by 12 inches, excluding the strap. Hope that helps!

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  26. Calli (makeitdo) I made my bags in smaller size than on the tutorial as my twins are only (almost) 4 yrs. old. I need to check the sizes I've written down at home to let you know how big mine were.

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  27. Great bag and I love your humorous saga about a project that got a little frustrating. Thanks for sharing.

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  28. Gorgeous. . .Just Gorgeous!!! She will love it!!

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  29. Okay, I am linking to this today to show others how incredibly gorgeous your work is. Bravo!! I LOVE this bag. wooooo!

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  30. Everyone, thanks again for the bag love.

    Rita, the bag is made of canvas weight and quilting weight cottons, with interfacing to stiffen it up some.

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  31. Cute bag! I love the contrast of the patterned fabric against the grey fabric - it really makes the colors pop and I love the way you joined two different patterned fabrics to make one shape. Very creative!

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  32. I just finished this messenger bag--it turned out great! Easy to follow instructions--thank you so much! I used pink & green paisley quilted fabric with different prints on each side. My daughter will love using it. The fabric was special to her because it was used to cover a board for the seating chart at her wedding in June. PTL!

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  33. "I sure hope she likes this bag." And I replied sweetly, "IT'S NOT ABOUT HER ANYMORE" as I stabbed the flap with the seam ripper.

    haha! too funny! great job on the bag!

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