a messenger bag

I'm not a big fan of making hand made bags, but I do love carrying them. Every once in awhile I make one anyway, even if the process isn't my favorite. The results are totally worth it!

Over the past several days I sewed up this messenger bag. I didn't follow a pattern at all, but I did consult my friend Tara on a few parts of the construction. (Thanks Tara!) The outside is made from denim, the flap is scrappy, of course! I used a linen strap that I found in the epic bag of scraps that I received from Mary. It was so nice to have that part done!

There are multiple layers and various materials in this baby, including: lightweight denim, canvas, interfacing, batting, linen and quilting cotton. (Oh my!)

The lining fabric is red and white polka dot, which is probably no surprise at all. I love that it's so happy! I added 4 simple slide pockets on the inside....

...and I even added a zipper pocket to the back of the bag. I watched the instructions on how to make a zippered pocket in Tara's Quilt as You Go Patchwork Bags Craftsy class, which completely demystified the process. I felt so smart and accomplished! It's not perfectly straight, but not bad at all for a first try.

The bag measures about 13" wide x 14" tall x 3" deep. I LOVE how it turned out! I can't wait to fill it up and start carrying it around. It's going to hold lots and lots of stuff....but not the kitchen sink! :)

I haven't said it in awhile, but...hurray for scraps!!!


On an unrelated note...I apologize to those of you who follow my blog via email who received a weird email message linking to me last week. My blog got hacked (what a mess) and I apologize for the trouble. Please delete the email message and move on. Hopefully it's all taken care of now. Thank you to those of you who gave me a heads up. I appreciate it!