Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A Quilt Becomes a Bag



Remember this quilt I was working on? Well, it somehow turned into this bag. Here's the story: Back in June I started the quilt for Miss B's birthday. Around the same time I asked her to pick out something in one of my sewing books that she'd also like for her birthday. She picked the tote bag from the Oliver+S Little Things to Sew book. Of course, it was the only thing I didn't have the fabric for. And since I'm only sewing from the stash right now, I was in a downright pickle. Then, I remembered the quilt. The Heather Ross fabric is a beautiful heavier linen that I thought would work perfectly. I had only pieced together a section that was just big enough to cut out the outside, and side pockets. I used the leftover fabric from the quilt for the inside pockets and a matching purple polka dot for the lining. The only thing I had to buy were the slide adjustors for the straps. I wanted the pretty metal ones like in the book but unfortunately my local stores only had the plastic.

I think it turned out pretty cute. It's a little crazy colorful but it matches Miss B's personality perfectly. The bag is a bit on the wimpy side and looking back I should have used a heavier weight fabric for the lining as well. However, it works perfectly fine for overnight trips to Grandma's or library trips and for the $1.50 I spent making it I think it was a big success!