Messenger Bag

I can see the finish line as far as Christmas sewing goes. I've got one more project for a gift and then if I have time, one thing for myself. I think I can make it with time to spare, though in the interest of full disclosure you should know that my house looks terrible! There are toys and laundry and dirty dishes everywhere! In the words of Scarlet O'Hara "Oh fiddly dee, I'll think about that tomorrow"... or the day after that...

Today I finished a messenger bag for my Mom. She actually requested one and I don't blame her. It's a great size. It's not huge, but it easily fits all the things from my purse, a magazine, book or journal and is the perfect size for any tablet or e-reader device. This is the fifth time I've made this bag and I'm hoping to do it one more time (I desperately need a new purse before we leave for the holidays). I use the child's messenger bag pattern from the book "One Yard Wonders" (which we have in the store). I know it says child but it's just a great size for a medium sized bag! I don't change the dimensions at all. I did add a second interior pocket with one half made to fit a cell phone, but that's the only thing I did different.

The first few I made were very "geeky" in nature. We're talking comic book, Star Trek, and Doctor Who fabric. Since this one is for my mom I made it a bit more beautiful and quite a bit less nerdy then those. I used Moda's Fig Tree fabric, Tapestry (Click Here to see it on our website), for the exterior of the bag and Moda's Grunge in Rogue (Click Here). I also used a very heavy fusible interfacing on the exterior to give it staying power (I think the original pattern calls for home decor weight fabric and this allows you to use any fabric).

 It's a bit grey out today and the fabric is dark in nature so the pics didn't turn out as well as I'd like, but the bag turned out great. I love this project, it's one of the few I go back to again and again. It's really quick to make so if your looking for something fast this is for you.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to eat more cookies.
Happy Sewing,
Love Jessie and Sue too!