I loved the bag I recently made for CousinM so much that I had to make one for myself. I could have made an exact copy but didn’t really want to make another black thing straight away. I didn’t really have much time to make it and it would be mainly made at night… time to raid my colourful scraps stash!

MrA & I are going on holiday so I figured I’d need a holiday bag… I’ve had this fabric for ages. I bought it in Dunelm Mill and used it to cover my ironing board…

… I had a good metre left over. It’s not Cath Kidston, but it’s Cath Kidston-esque. If you haven’t already, you can read about how I made the 1st one HERE.

This is just a quick re-cap as I tuned the construction order a bit.

  1. Cut out all the pieces. Gather all the hardware.
  2. Make each ‘face’- Outer & inner fronts, zip strips, Sides & bottom inc pen holders, inside lining, tabs & strap. (Phew)
  3. Attach sides & zip strip together.
  4. Make both bag fronts.
  5. With the big bag inside out, put the small bag (right sides together) inside it and the divider pieces on top. Sew all round.
  6. Ta-dah!

Although only a small part of the bag, it was the pen holder that I had my eureka moment with…

  • Pen holder is cut 1.5cm wider than bag side piece. Overlocked top & bottom.
  • Fold & hem the top. Fold & press the bottom.
  • Mark the centre of the holder & centre of side piece. Position holder on centre line approx 2cm up from corner notch. Stitch in place.
  • Baste the sides of the holder in line with the sides of the bag piece.
  • Pleat the centre of the holder, at the bottom, to lie flat & stitch to secure the base.

I’m really happy with how this little bag turned out. It was much quicker to make second time around.

A nice bright (& plain) lining should make it easy to find everything inside. There’s a couple of patch pockets and a few tabs.

I was so concerned about matching up the horses legs, I didn’t notice I’d cut the cowboys head off! 

But as soon as it was finished I knew that I’d have a fight on my hands from MrA if I wanted to keep it for myself. So I sat up late and made another one…

I used up the last of my camo fabric and lined it in silver. That should keep him happy! I just need to scavenge some lobster claws off of something to finish the strap.

So that’s it, I think I’ve made enough of these for now. And I’ve proved that when MrA’s away, I turn into an OCD Sewing Hermit.

… now, where did I put my passport?

Happy sewing!

Notes to self:

  • Keep notes on self drafted patterns. 
  • Approach making calmly and stay relaxed (sometimes I forget to put music on… I relax more with it)
  • Change up the fabrics rather than the pattern & they will get quicker each time.