I’m torturing myself with an online sewing class. No, don’t get me wrong; the class itself is great. Alison making her projects in said class 10 times harder than they have to be? Not so great.
Our first real project, aside from some napkins, was a reversible tote bag. As described and assigned by our instructor, it was a piece of cake. The catch is that our instructor gave no dimensions. “Make the bag you want,” she said. Or maybe that’s just what I heard. Suddenly, all kinds of bells and whistles seemed like a really good idea. Who wants a square bag? Who wants a bag without interior pockets custom-fit to her gadgets? Who wants a bag without top stitching? Who wants a bag with a plain exterior? And who wants a flimsy bags?
You can see where this is going.
The simple reversible bag of an hour’s labor turned into a relatively elaborate non-reversible beach tote of 15 hours’ labor. Yup, 15 hours. I do not know what I’m doing. I do not sew. I’ve never top-stitched or applied interfacing or cut out fabric without a pattern or made interior pockets or any of it!
Oh, and those 14 hours needed to be spent on other projects for the class. You can guess how far behind I am by now, especially when you throw in a two-week vacation. Sheesh.
I’ll tell you what’s cool, though: this beach tote that I designed and sewed.
Ta-dah!
It features a flat bottom, angled sides, top stitching, heavy-duty interfacing, contrast lining, and custom-made interior pockets for my iPhone, Kindle, and pens and pencils.
Also note that nice contrasting band around the top of the bag, which I even matched up along the sides.
And it’s big enough to carry a baby elephant. I look like a midget hauling it around.
J thinks this is okay. “It will hide your stomach when you’re pregnant,” he points out.
????!!
Other functions include Picnic Bag. It’s big enough to hold the blanket, food, drinks, and a baseball bat for J’s head.
HAHA!! That’s adorable! And sometimes guys just say the “darndest” things. 🙂
[…] Comments « Sewing Class Project #1: Tote […]
Thanks! And yes, they surely do. Sigh.
Awesome job! Way to go, baby! It far surpasses any “first-timer” project. You’re going to enjoy that bag more than you realize and will get such a sense of accomplishment every time you look at it.