When I have a lot of projects to finish, it’s hard to choose between the one that has to be done right now and the one I’d rather be making. We had our staff party on Friday night. This bag went to a co-worker who loves bags. I decided around last January to make bags for my co-workers this Christmas, since I’ve made them mug rugs for the previous two years. Unfortunately, the lady I’d worked with the longest decided to retire at the end of April, forcing me to produce a bag before I’d had much time to practice. As I was giving away this poor attempt, my co-worker was nearly having a stroke! because she wanted a bag so much. Silly woman. I think she was very happy with the bag she received the other night.
However, I spent so much time on this bag, that I hadn’t much time to get to the others. I was also working on a bag for a friend (which is now done and you’ll see it in the next post). The lady who retired was replaced by another this Spring, and I planned to make her a bag for Christmas also. I finally picked an easy pattern and started on it Thursday night. Finished it just the before the staff party the next day.
It wasn’t what I initially had planned: I was thinking of something a little more complex. However, I’d left it so late that I was desperate for something simple and elegant. Normally, she carries quite a small purse, so I thought this little wristlet might be useful. She also travels a lot in literary circles, so something she could take with her for an evening out was behind my choice of fabrics – a couple of fat quarters with an oriental theme. I think it went together well – easiest zipper ever! – and I think she liked it.
My friend Judy and I were just saying earlier in the week how much we disliked bags that didn’t have an inner lining… And then I went ahead and made one. I wasn’t thinking of that as I was making it. It’s the only thing I don’t like about this bag. The front fabric and lining are quilted together first, and then stitched together, so the seams are exposed inside. If I made another one, I would make a lining for it. Of course, the zipper would no longer be so easy.
If you want to try this pattern, it has exterior pockets. That made no sense to me (since anything you put in the pockets is going to fall out if you use the wrist strap) so I put the pockets inside. But since there was no lining to attach it to, the line of sewing to divide the pockets would have been seen on the outside of the bag, so it’s just one single pocket inside.
What I liked about this pattern was the gusset that narrowed as it approached the top of the bag. I also liked the finished look on the pocket, which was a border along the top of the fabric lining the inside of the pocket. And, of course, the zipper. I’ll have to come up with a better pattern to incorporate the things I like and eliminate the things I don’t.
Until next time,
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