The pattern is from Debbie Shore's new book Sew Brilliant Bags which has some fab bag projects in it. This is just one of several I want to try. The thing I loved about this one is it's made from fat quarters (5 of them), I have so many fat quarters I'm always looking for ways to use them up. It's fairly simple as bags go, it doesn't require any specialist tools or hardware, just fabric, foam, a large zip and bias binding. It does suggest a foam board bag base but I didn't include that in mine as I don't have any and it seems fine without.
I used double sided In-R-Form Bosal foam for the structute, which I've never tried before. The fact it was adhesive on both side meant I had to change the way I made the bag a little, I also swapped the rope handles for fabric handles.
The foam was nice and thick so gave the bag loads of body. It did make it tricky when sewing the seams when putting the bag together because I struggled to get it under the needle. The one bit I really struggled with was binding the seams at the end. Partially because the layers of foam made it hard to get under the needle and partially because the bulk of the bag made it difficult to fit. Plus the weight of the bag meant it kept pulling the fabric out from under the needle.
The picture above is one of the better bits of binding, and even that is wobbly. I had to unpick several times and some of it looks pretty awful. But on the plus side it's all on the inside of the bag so no one will know how bad it looks! If I made the bag again I might overlock stitch the seams instead so I only have to fit the very edge under the foot or hand sew the binding. The other thing I was considering was to use fusible fleece instead of foam because then it won't be so thick but then it would lose some of the structure.
There are a few other bags I want to try from this book, there are lots of great ideas in it. Plus it reminded me I ought to dig out her Sew Useful book as there was lots I wanted to make in there too. Overall I'm happy with the bag, it's bigger than I thought it would be which is great and very sturdy thanks to the foam. It's just a shame that the binding on the inside isn't as nice as I'd like it to be, but that's down to me not the pattern.
We've added a few new bag projects to the site this month if you fancy making your own bag:
A spacious bucket bag from Helen Rhiannon
Plus a useful messenger bag project from Becky Skuse
We also have lots of other bag projects here for you to choose from.
We also have lots of other bag projects here for you to choose from.
