Bright Blue Bag

This is the second bag I made for M's shop. To keep it simple, I started with the same pattern as the first one and modified it a bit.

The changes include using two narrow straps on the sides of the bag instead of one wide one at the ends, making the bottom of the top band straight rather than curved, and cutting the main part of the bag into three gathered strips.

I stabilized each gathered seam with stay tape so they wouldn't stretch out. The lining is smooth and slightly smaller than the outer part, so stretching shouldn't be a problem. Since the print fabric is a quilting cotton, I backed the lining pieces with fusible fleece to give the bag some heft.

The rings are harness rings from the hardware store. They come in a variety of sizes at a good price.

And then the zipper. I added tabs to the end of the zipper because this one was a little short, but generally I find this works better than stitching the zipper all the way to the ends when it's recessed like this. It just seems easier to open and close. The interior of the bag is the same as the last one - pockets on each side.

I was happy with this bag, too. The idea came from a bag I saw at a nice shop in town. It was made from a beautiful soft grey leather and it really wanted to be mine. Were it not for the price tag indicating just how beautiful the leather was, I would have brought it home. I do have a piece of grey Ultrasuede in my stash. Maybe I'll make my own version...