In January my friend Vicki made a darling bag from the Dainty Tote Bag Tutorial at Three Owls Handmade. I really wanted to make one, and I have finally done it! I absolutely love my new purse.
Except for the lining and the handles, it is entirely made from scraps. When I made this twister quilt for my Sister-in-law, I cut out four ten inch squares from a ten inch strip.
I had a lot of scraps ten inches long by 2-3 inches wide. I decided to cut them down to 10 x 2 inches and use them for the dainty tote bag in a checkerboard layout. (The tutorial uses 2.5 inch squares).
Tip: If you like strip piecing, but still want a random checkerboard layout, you can sew your background fabric (black) to your print fabric (red) then cut it down to size (2 inches). This saves you from cutting and sewing lots of 2 inch squares.
Then you can lay them out randomly.
Because my squares finish at 1.5 inches instead of 2 inches, my bag is a bit different in size from the tutorial. However, I was still able to use her template for the side piece. I just cut it a half inch shorter.
After piecing and cutting the outside panel, I trimmed off one row on each side so that the handles (wider than hers) would blend in with the checkerboard.
I also quilted the lining just a little bit to keep it from shifting. Plus, I added a couple pockets.
I absolutely love my new purse! (But I think I already said that.) ;D
The binding around the curved edge was my least favorite part of the project. I like sewing boxed corners better. However, I love how it looks.
Another little change I made was using a little bit longer zipper and adding a tab at the end. This makes it open a little wider.
It fits my iPad mini and everything else nicely.
One other change I made was to lengthen the handles. I like my purse to go over my shoulder.
While the handles may look a little odd being so long on such a small project, I really like it this way.
Just for fun, here it is in comparison with the queen bee bags I just made.
Nice and dainty!
XX,
Jasmine
P.S. I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar. There is something fun for every day of the week!
P.P.S. Originally I was going to use some of the leftover gray pieces from the twister quilt, but decided to save them for a different project. They may become a quilted pouch sometime soon.
Totally love the purse! It seems easy until you start talking about the pockets, the handle, the sides, and the zipper! I have never done anything but quilting. I just need to stop quilting for a week and make me a bag. New things are hard! Quilting is easy. I like the easy road...I guess I need to change!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely adorable, Jasmine! You could make a little pouch like the ones I've created...Moda Bakeshop also has a few darling patterns.
ReplyDeleteLove it, Jasmine. Totally awesome. You make the cutest things. I may try this one.
ReplyDeleteOh Jasmine it is adorable! See I wanted a longer handle too but didn't have enough fabric. I am going to make another one someday and will do that.
ReplyDeleteAwesome handbag Jasmine. You really did a wonderful job on it. I really like the look of the binding on the edges. Great use of those leftover scraps.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice bag Jasmine! I love to be able to just sew up a new handbag whenever I'm in the mood for a new one. :) Your version is so cute, I really like the patchwork look.
ReplyDeleteLove your version and the smaller size patchwork! Longer handles work perfectly. Thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a really sweet bag. I've never made one, but every time I see something as nice as this I think I should try.
ReplyDeleteAdorable bag! Love your scrappy pattern and its a really good idea to quilt the lining - I'm going to pinch that!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous quilt and adorabe bonus bag of your sraps. Thank for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great little bag! And I love how you personalized it to meet your needs :)
ReplyDeleteLove the last photo - it looks so tiny next to the tote bags and really cute!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bags! I love that you quilted the lining, this is exactly how I would have done it. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThat turned out beautifully. Again, I like how you photographed the dainty with the not-so-dainty bags - it's fun to see the size comparison. I am thinking about making a purse at my upcoming retreat...love bags, hate making them. Maybe if I do it with company it will feel less like work and more like play! Your finish has just pushed me over the edge, and now I'm inspired to pull fabric!
ReplyDeleteIt's perfect! Such a nice size...I'm not a fan of the monster sized purses some women carry now and yours looks like a much more reasonable size. I love the colours too, and the rounded bottom gives it such a feminine look.
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute bag! I also need to get into bag making. Sometime I feel like there are so many quilts I want to make that there is no time left over.
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect way to use up scraps from a quilt! It turned out really nice.
ReplyDeleteOh, it is so pretty! You are very talented. We share so many of the same interests (well, all of them!) as I love to quilt, cook, bake and scrapbook too! I am going to learn so much from you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Angie
a1angiem(at)live(dot)ca
I love it when scraps become something so useful! I had to laugh when I saw the comparison picture. Your queen bags look huge!
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