Getting in the Groove

I never seem to have the right bag for the outing.  I've been wanting to sew bags, and this time resting my wrist has been great for my sewing mojo!  I decided a drawstring backpack would be good.  They didn't look hard, no real special hardware needed.  I started googling.  Mmmm.  Could it be made reversible?  I hate how crumbs get stuck in the raw seams of bags....I couldn't find a pattern to make it reversible, but I did find a pattern for making a lined version.  I used one we already had to base the size on, which was 16"x20".

 I picked out this loooonnnngggg piece of heavier decorator cotton.  I've had it for awhile.  I bought it thinking it was a sheet, but it turned out to be a window topper, so it's not very wide.  But there's lots of it!  And, it even had a hem that I thought would work for passing the ties through.   Which of course meant I had to adjust the size of the inner piece to account for needing to fold over the casement.

 The other edge was a folded over hem, which I thought I could cut off, zig zag down the edge, and make into the straps.

 This inside would be this blue fabric I found in my bin.  I have no idea where it came from.  It might have come from my aunt, who lived in Africa for awhile when I was young, and a few years ago she gave me some African fabric she had brought back but never used.

 The "Made in..." was stamped with a gold foil.  I thought it would be cool if it showed on some future project, but unfortunately, it could be scraped off with my nail.  I don't know the fabric content, but when I ironed it---it stank really bad!

I decided I wanted an inside pocket.  When the weather is warmer I'm going to be walking to work, and I'd like a place for my keys, phone and mp3 player.  Well, now we have a new door lock with a number pad, so I don't need the key, but if we're hiking or something, it'll be good.  I used the tutorial here which worked very well, even though I wasn't placing it 1" below the top and I used a different sized zipper, one just pulled from my stash.  I buy bags of random zippers at Value Village once in awhile.  Great way to have random colours for projects like this.

This is the outside of the pocket fabric.  Just chose a random bit of fabric from my bins! 

 This is the inside of the pocket.  I don't like dark fabrics in bags!

I went outside to take pictures, and over the course of the morning, the local robins built this much of a nest, right beside our back door!

 This is a close up of the strap.  I spent a bit of time trimming off loose threads. However, I did it with the bag loose, and when I tightened it to use it....there were a lot more threads that needed trimming!

So here's the final result.  I'm quite pleased.  It's substantial enough without being heavy.  My knitting needles don't poke through.  The opening has some heft to it so it doesn't collapse when trying to put things in.  Large enough for my snowpants and safety vest for work.  It's nice to have something practical, pretty, and unique!