New Bags

 I have made a couple of new bags in the last couple of weeks with my, ahem, free time.  Jeremy was out of town for the last week and I made myself sit down and do some projects during nap time just to keep my sanity.  I also really wanted to get my sewing supplies cleaned up and out of the dining room.

 I made both of these bags out of the same pattern.  The green bag came first and I really wasn't impressed with the pattern.  The pleats on the front of the bag were not spaced properly on the pattern and I had to add an additional pleat to make it work. 

I did some additional stitching, but other than that, (and the added pleat) the green bag went pretty much according to the pattern.

I took a break from sewing for about a week and then started up on the red bag.  I ended up just making one pleat on each side, which turned out to be a lot easier.  I also shortened the handles.  It turns out I didn't follow the pattern correctly on the green bag.  Oops.  I also made different sizes of pockets on the inside.

 

  

I have another one of this style of bag cut out and three more bags of  a different style ready to be sewn. I hope to get a lot more done before Christmas.

Jane Market Bag

Cora was in need of a bag for her church gear and I have been eying Alicia Paulson's Jane Market Bag, so I decided to buy the pattern and make a bag. This pattern was very easy to follow and it took me a short afternoon to whip up the bag. Some of the things that I did differently are:

1. I used canvas on the lining layer to add some more stability to the bag. I found the canvas at Mill End Textiles for a decent price and I took a chance and it worked! I have seen canvas at a lot of different garage sales and I think I'm going to stock up now that I know that it works well to add the stiffness that I want.

2. I modified the fold of the pocket just a little bit. When I make this bag again I am going to double the fabric and just fold it over to make a more finished pocket.

I usually like a longer handle on my bags, but I followed the pattern on this one. Just like a real shopping bag, this handle is shorter and is meant to fit on your arm and not over your shoulder. If you desire to carry it on your shoulder you can just make the straps a little big longer.

I was really surprised at how quickly this bag came together. The pattern was really easy to understand and there were lots of pictures to explain every step. I'm happy that I only had to rip out one seam. I think my sewing skills are slowly improving!

In a perfect world I would use these bags for all of my grocery shopping needs. I am going to try to make them one-by-one and start using them and eventually I will have enough to use all the time.