Sewing Another Project Bag

I think I wrote it before… I am not a bag person. And with a bag I mean hand bag. I find it much easier to put everything that I need in the pockets of my jacket or coat. But, bags are a lot of fun to make. Especially project bags. They are small projects and, in this case, you can’t have enough of them! So here is another project bag.

My fabric stash can easily keep up with my yarn stash. And when I buy fabrics without a particular pattern in mind I usually buy a few matching pieces of cotton. Because they can always be turned into a project bag! I think I bought these last September and they were still waiting to be turned into something. I love the warm colours combined with the pop of blueish green.

Now, I wanted to my new project bag to be a little different from the ones that I already have. And it needed pockets on the inside and on the outside.

In my Instagram feed a post by Lara of @1000stoff popped up. She made a little pouch using a Velcro closure and for that she used a tutorial by Ina of @pattydooblog. The tutorial (in German) is free and comes with a video. I decided to use it on my project bag too.

I have based the required measurements on the size of an existing project bag that, I find, is a good size. After figuring out the sizes and how many pieces of fabric I would need of each colour, it was time to cut! Then carefully think about the order in which I have to assemble everything and off we go.

That actually is the most critical part of sewing for me! I often think too fast and in my mind I skip an important step. If you have been sewing before, then you know that doing things in the right order is kind of important. So for me, the challenge is to slow down and carefully think about each step.

After finishing my project bag I had a few scraps of fabric left and I decided to make a small, matching notions pouch to fit a pair of scissors and some stitch markers.

So, let me show you the results!

The project bag is quite tall when unfolded. The advantage is that you can adjust the height according to the size of your project.

There are two pockets on the back to put in a pattern, for instance. And I have made a carrying strap with is attached using small metal clasps.

And a there are a few smaller pockets on the inside for needles, a row counter, yarn ball labels…

Oh, and when the top is folded down, the Velcro is hidden and the yarn doesn’t stick to it!

Of course, both the project bag and the notions pouch have a merino and tomatoes label :)!

I am really happy with it and so far I have been using it for my Elfriede shawl. It’s quite a big knit and it still fits in the bag. Yay! The shawl is actually finished soon, so stay tuned!