"Weekend Sewing" Bag

I've been busy doing a little post Christmas crafting for myself, hehe. Well, it was really out of necessity that I made this handbag because my old one is about to fall apart. I broke out some special Anna Maria Horner velveteen for the occasion. I had originally bought the fabric for a dress project for Miss Oona, but with only a yard to work with, she grew too fast to put the fabric to use. I might be able to make her a little something with the remainder.

 This bag is lined with purple corduroy and there's an inner pocket for your cell phone, etc. I decided to add on an outer pocket too as I thought it might be useful for little toys and whatnot that need to be found quickly.

The pattern is from "Weekend Sewing" by Heather Ross. I dusted the book off from the shelf to make some Christmas jammies for Jake (which I still need to share with you), and was reminded of this handbag pattern. The pattern is relatively easy, but be warned, the yardage listed in the book is wrong. It takes more than double the amount called for. You will need about a yard and quarter of each the main fabric and the lining to make it work. I had to fudge the directions a little to make it work with only a yard of each (I'm glad I had the extra fabric or this never would have come to be).

 

Another sewing note: the velveteen was a little bit difficult to sew with on the bias binding straps.  I love how it turned out, but you might want to go with something a little thinner if you don't want to have arguments with your sewing machine.

 Oona of course had to give it a try. You can see how big the bag is in comparison to my toddler. She promptly started filling it with blocks. I'm surprised she didn't climb inside it.

I also got to destash a cool vintage button and some embroidery ribbon I found recently for the pocket I added on the front.

I can't wait to fill it up! (Note to self: dump out blocks first.) Hopefully the two pockets will help me keep things slightly more organized than in my last handbag.