Bag--Sixth Finish 3rd Quarter FAL

Fabrics and pattern for the project

Almost all of the fabric for this bag came from the guild free table more than a year ago. The price on the package with the five inch squares was $24.  The price on the 1/2 yard of fabric that I used for the lining was $7. All the fabrics were linen Japanese fabrics which were perfect choices for the bag.

Lining with pockets

The reverse of the card contained the directions for making the bag. The size of the card was three inches by five inches; so the directions were brief! The square package contained a another paper which listed what was needed to complete the kit. The items were:  a half yard of fabric for the lining and thread. The half yard of interfacing was optional. I wanted to use interfacing because when there is piecing in a bag, I think the bag wears better if it is interfaced.

I laid out the five inch squares in a pleasing three squares wide by six squares long pattern. I paid attention at the half way point to place the blocks upside down so they would appear right side up in the bag. Following the directions, I stitched the sides of the outer bag together.

Lining, outer bag, handle, zipper tab top constructed

This was incorrect. I should have added the interfacing; but, nowhere in the directions was interfacing mentioned! Later, I looked online to see if there was a correction to the pattern; but, there wasn't. I ripped what I had stitched and added the interfacing. I did quilt the interfacing to the outer bag. I used a sew in interfacing so stitching it was a good way to ensure the stabilizer stayed where it was intended! Then I restitched the sides of the piecework.

I moved on to constructing the lining. The directions were to stitch the lining as I did the outer bag. I thought the bag would be more useable if there were
pockets so I added some that were segmented to one side of the lining. I did bind the edge of the pocket in a contrasting fabric so it was easy to distinguish the pocket. The middle segment was large enough for my cell phone.

Top of bag

For the other side of the lining, I constructed a large zipper pocket. I used a dress zipper that was designed to be set into a side seam. The zipper came from my grandmother's stash. The price on the package was fifty cents!  There wasn't enough fabric for this pocket so I chose a neutral fabric from my stash. There were no directions for making these pockets; I drew on my experience from making some organizers earlier this year.

The pattern didn't call for boxing the corners; but, I did it because it is easier to find items in the bag
when there are square corners. The bag stands up better too. I liked the fabric that was in the kit for the handle. I pinned the layers together, added the handle and the zipper top. The zipper top wasn't part of the pattern either; but, I like to be able to close the top of my bag.

Finished bag

I added a tab to one end of the zipper and a different style of pull to the top of the zipper. Then I basted those sections together. I machine stitched the binding and finished it with hand stitching.

I liked the end result. I hope someone will purchase it at the boutique and raise a little money for the guild during the quilt show in September. This was goal number 17 on my 3rd Quarter FAL list.  This project represents about a yard and a quarter of fabric that is no longer in my stash! I have now used 62 and one quarter yards of fabric from my stash this year. This was my sixth finish for the third quarter.