Friday, April 3, 2015

Two Queen Bee Bags


Ever since I saw my friend Michelle's Queen Bee Bag, I have wanted to make one.  She told me about the tutorial at the Moda Bake Shop, and I went to find it.  The tutorial is done by Polly of Aunt Polly's Porch.  The tutorial uses a charm pack and has pieced panels, but I wanted to keep it simple and show off the cute daisy fabric I found.  So while I used the tutorial for dimensions, I also changed quite a few things.

This is my first bag.


One thing I did differently was quilt big panels and cut them down to size.  The nice thing about using Kona Black for the main part of the bag is that it is a little extra wide.  I was able to quilt 7/8 of a yard and cut out two panels 22 x 27 inches.

Another thing I changed was making the pocket designed to hold a 18 x 24 inch cutting mat taller.  The tutorial has a 14 inch tall pocket. (I don't have a mat that size, so I put my June Taylor Cut-n-Press in the pocket.) My pocket was cut out at 22 inches square.  This makes it not so floppy.  Once again I quilted 2/3 of a yard of the daisy fabric and cut out the sizes I wanted.  So the red line you see at the top is binding, not just the lining showing.


I still did the two pockets on the other side, but wish that I had used velcro or a zipper on the bottom pocket.  When things are in the main part of the bag that bottom pocket really flops open.  But I love that tall pocket for rulers.


Originally, I wanted the lining to be quilted like this reversible bag I recently made.


I love how strong it feels, so I quilted a gray panel for it. What I didn't consider was how thick the bag would already be with the outer pockets, so I decided to use a plain lining instead.  For the inner pockets, I just zig-zagged around some left over quilted pieces.  The black pocket is divided in half, and the white pocket has a velcro closure.


This bag nicely fits my Pfaff Plexiglas extension table which measures 18 x 24 inches.  I am excited to take this bag to a class or retreat.

The one thing I was dreading making was the 80 inch handles.  She has you iron each side in 3/4 of an inch before folding it in half, adding batting, and topstitching.  That was 320 inches of a 3/4 inch hem.  I tried an experiment and used my Hera marker to crease a line at 3/4 of an inch and then iron it.  (This red is Kona Chinese Red - one of my favorites.)


This was a technique I have used when making cards.  You score the paper before folding and end up with a prettier fold.  I was amazed at how well it worked with the fabric.  Ironing that 3/4 inch hem went so fast!

So after the first bag was finished I had two large quilted gray panels (about 22 x 27 inches).  I didn't want it to go to waste, so I decided to make a second bag.  :)


I ended up cutting it down to 21 x 27 inches so I could make two big 21 x 22 inch pockets with that Studio E Essentials vine fabric.  I kept one pocket big to hold cutting mats and large square rulers.


And divided the second pocket in half.  (There is a seam between those two rulers).


I ran out of the Northcott solid gray, so I lined the second bag with Kona White.  There is just one pocket made out of the white fabric which has a velcro closure.


This bag is slightly smaller and fits my Janome extension table very well.


Right now they are both in my craft room.  I may or may not give the second one to my mother.  I may just keep it and store rulers I don't use as often in there.  We'll see.  :)


When I talked to my friend Michelle and told her about the changes I made, she said the one change she would make is boxing the corners a bit.  But all in all the tutorial for the Queen Bee Bag at the Moda Bake Shop is excellent.  One thing to note is that Polly says it is a 120 minute gift idea.  Even after I quilted the panels, it took me a lot longer than that for each bag.  She must be speedy.  :D

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the parties on my sidebar.  Check them out.  There is something fun for every day of the week.

15 comments:

  1. Beautiful bags and great instructions. I just wish I had a use for one!

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  2. Both of your bags came out beautiful. I love the idea with the hera marker. I've never thought of that and it's a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing that.

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  3. What a great tip about scoring the fabric before folding and pressing... wow, I love that!

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  4. Great bags and a great tip on the marker

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  5. Lovely bags!! I love your changes and your technique for the straps is genius! Good job, YOU!! Thanks so much for sharing!! :-)

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  6. These bags are so nice looking! You did a great job on them!

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  7. Your bags are darling! and customized. Yea, I can't imagine all those details taking just 1.5 hrs :)

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  8. Black White & Red makes an exciting, bright combination. 4.5 yards is a LOT of fabric, indeed. Once agin, your work is so neat. That is just the kind of work that the home economics teacher would hold up to show the class and other students would murmur - oh no, not her again!!! LOL.
    A very Happy Easter to you and your family. Hugs, Preeti.

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  9. Great bags, Jasmine! And that tip about the hera marker is awesome!

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  10. Very nice bags! I've been wanting to make one, but just never seem to have the time.

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  11. Okay, good to know about the Hera marker! I know Cyndy at QimFtHousework uses one, and so I got one, but haven't had an opportunity to try it yet. I always press down the centre, open, repress the edges to that fold...Both of your bags are just great! Love those pockets...

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  12. These are so incredibly cute and functional. Your fabric is great too! Love your changes.

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  13. Great bags, Jasmine - you've done a great job adapting the pattern to suit you. Gorgeous fabric choices too. Delightful work :)

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  14. Both bags are so beautiful! I really love that daisy fabric.

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