Friday, September 6, 2013

Finished: Small Messenger Bag

One of the girls at work asked me if I could make her daughter a messenger bag.  I told her I could.   And then I wondered why I said yes.  I don't mind sewing for other people- especially if it's a gift, or a surprise, or something along those lines, but I really hate sewing specific things for people.  I always wonder if it's going to be what they wanted and I never know how much to charge, plus I'm a slow sewer.  I like to do it in spurts with a little here and a little there.  I rarely sit down and do a whole project from start to finish, so even if it's something that only takes a couple hours, I still spend at least a couple days on it.  So I finally decided to just get this project done today, before work.


I used Yards and Yards messenger bag tutorial.  It's really a pretty straight forward tutorial and it makes a cute bag.  The fabric I chose was from my local quilt shop.  The exterior is Summer Solstice from RJR Fabrics, and the interior fabric is a orange print on a white background.  No information on the selvage edge.  Both pieces have been in my stash for quite a while.  So it felt good to get them used up.  I also used fusible, heavy weight Pellon to make it sturdier.


And, since it's for a grade school girl, I used a velcro closer.  But, I think the flap is plenty long, and it will stay in place if you just flip it over the openning.  But, oh well, things to remember if I make it again. I also really like the squared corners.  It gives the bag some depth without making you have to cut out a bunch of side pieces.

I really like the outcome, but I think it is probably smaller than what my coworker had in mind.  It took a little under two yards of fabric, over a yard of fusible Pellon, velcro, and thread, plus about three hours of my time. I don't think non-sewers realize what all goes into sewing.  (To be honest I didn't really think it through when I said I'd do it.  But, live and learn.)


What do you think?  Do you like to sew for other people or do you only like to sew on your own terms?

2 comments:

  1. I only like to sew for people when it's a gift.

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  2. It's much nicer to sew what you want and not have to worry about what the other person is expecting. My coworker loved the bag, and she thought it might be big enough, but I'm still glad to have that project done.

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