Patchwork bags

When I recently got back into sewing again as a hobby I decided I wanted to make some nice bags and smallish items to get back into the swing of using a sewing machine.

First of all heres my veryfirts attempt - a tea towel tote bag. I bought a pack of 3 retro print tea towels in a lovely firm linen like fabric, one tea towel made this really useful shopping bag which I made with one long strap so I can carry it over my shoulder.

Next I wanted to make a book cover as I'm seldom to be seen without my current read in my hand and I tend to take them with me where I go, this useful book cover has a ribbon as a bookmark and I made it with 2 handles so I can carry it about, its very lightly padded so it protects the book but is still light and compact.

I made this one a touch too small and it only fits a smaller papaerback but hey, now I've made one I can make a whole bunch in different sizes and colours!

I wanted to try a handbag and I looked on the web for free bag patterns and found this super free pattern at Made by Rae for a buttercup bag, if you're interested in making bags I can recommend popping by her blog which has several really easy to follow patterns totally FREE to download.

Its quite a small shoulder bag and I made it in really bright tropical summer colours to add a bit of sunshine to the days I use it.

I got a big offcut of this very jazzy fabric at my local car boot sale - what a great find!

In the meantime I bought a small pack of mixed patchwork fabrics so I could get on and do some patchworking which was what set me off on this route in the first place.

First I made this smallish book bag which is smallish enough to carry 2 or 3 paperback books but not big enough for a whole load of shopping.

Its really pretty and I think I might make a larger one for when I go scouting around the charity shops, markets and car boot sales for fabric and books!

Finally here is the most recent one I made - this was MUCH more complex It was made from a pattern my friend gave me when I saw her toting one of these lovely patchwork bags around.

Its padded with wadding and quilted to make it nice and soft and it has ties at the side so it opens out even larger if you need to cram more stuff in!

Its nice and big and strong enough to use as a shopper or a craft bag. I'm going to use this for carrying my current project around when we go away for weekends, or when I go to my craft group or for a crafting session at a friends like I enjoyed last week.


I hope you've enjoyed seeing my efforts so far.

Beady fans - don't worry I haven't stopped beading and have several new beady projects in line to follow shortly.