Bag-a-licious!

I fell hard for a tutorial handbag over at tiny happy. And when I visited a friends' mom and saw the fabric she used for new drapes, I knew it was a match made in sewing heaven.

Nice friend's mom donated fabric for the effort. I thought maybe I needed kind of like a half yard and here's how the drafted pattern fit the hunk-o-fabric.

Good call on the "yard"age. I was so excited to make this I whipped it up Monday between ALL the moving fun calls and came up with this:

Yikes! Those handles are WAY too wide, so I whipped them together on the wrong side:

Much better! Here's the finished bag hanging on the tree-that-the-new-owners-wanted-$1000-for-because-it-was-hit-by-lightening-3-summers-ago:

OK, so maybe that gash would make me a bit queasy, but that tree is going nowhere any time soon.

Here's what I thought of the bag pattern:

• No seam allowance was provided (or I couldn't see it) and made for some educated guessing. I went with 1/2" which is standard for nothing, but fits between the usual 1/4" quilting and 5/8" clothing allowances.
• I really like the width of the bag, but would consider a pleat at the top center before connecting the bag with the lining because the bag hangs oddly - or perhaps reduce the width by a couple of inches.
• The straps would look better if they were narrower and shorter (as I am a shorty myself).
• The fabric looks even better than I thought it would - love it!
• When your mom shows you her newest sewing creation, the correct answer IS "That's the most beautiful purse ever!" Ding, ding ding: winner! And you DO get bonus points if you ask for a littler version so you can match you mom.