I said I would make her a bag for her birthday. And I did. Almost a year later but in time for vacation! That has to count for something, right?

I remember that summer afternoon last year, I was obsessing over this gold and gray fabric variety Julie from Stitchin’ Stash had in her shop. She was so gracious and patient with me (helping me match combinations) as I selected the ones I wanted to purchase. The flower fabric is from my first visit to Hobby Lobby!

I knew the general exterior design would be similar to my vacation tote from last year.

For the patchwork, I used the technique from the Scrappy Trip Along. You sew strips together, cut them horizontally so you have squares. Sew end to end (like a tube) and unpick the seam where you want the color pattern to continue. You can select random or patterned. I did patterned this time but I REALLY prefer random.

I was trying to imitate the style from a bag I already have from Marshall’s. I won’t tell you how much it cost and how that compared to the cost of time and fabric for this one, but way more enjoyable and prettier for sure! Once the outside was done, the lining was easy to choose.

I decided early on that I would add inner pockets and a zipper (like the bag I had) first I thought about three pockets, but later decided two would be better. I’ll have to ask the owner how that worked out!

The construction was tricky. I  had to quilt the pocket units first then sew them into the lining pieces. Then I quilted the outside of the bag flipping the pockets one way, then flipping them the other way to quilt the bottom and other half of the bag.

Once it was all quilted I sewed the sides together. It was too thick to do a French Seam (pictured below) as I had wanted so

I sewed a 1/2 inch seam to make sure and catch the multiple layers. I also serged (zig-zag stitched) them to make them as secure and tidy as possible. I didn’t even notice the pockets were uneven until…. It must have been around 2 am at this point. 🙂

I did a boxed bottom and I am happy to say that came out perfect!

It also had a zippered top and handles inserted between the patchwork and top panel with extra stitching so it would hold when the bag was full.

Of course I added a little label.

Overall, I think it got two thumbs up, but I still need to practice zippers in all it’s forms.

You can tell it’s a pretty big bag, 18″ by 16″ by 6″ (estimate) I love the happy yellows.