First Bag

I expanded my craft repertoire into bags this summer, by which I mean I made one (left) and gave it to my sister for her birthday.

I had been scoping out tutorials online, and because I'm not good at looking at just one option, I combined several to make this bag (that may not be the most brilliant idea for a first time project, but it basically worked). Unfortunately because I did this a couple weeks ago, I can't remember exactly which tutorials I consulted. But I'm doing my best to recall some of the ones I looked at.

I remember checking out this basic tote tutorial (click the sidebar for the pdf), but I also sought out tutorials with more pictures such as this one from Creative Little Daisy and this one from Chocolate on my Cranium. I manipulated the size and interfacing materials based on what I had at home on a random weekday evening.

The Sew, Mama, Sew blog provided several helpful tutorials: Go here for a guide to various interfacing options. I used this lining tutorial (scroll down for the unstructured bag variety) and consulted this tutorial to learn more about making straps.

More than any other sewing project, bag-making has demonstrated to me that I need both written and pictorial instructions. Usually I can follow written directions quite well, but I really needed to be able to visualize how to attach the lining to the outside before doing it.

As it's my birthday today, I'm thinking about making a bag for myself as a treat. If I get up and extricate myself from the computer, that is.