Patchwork Batik Quilted Tote

I made a bag like this a few years ago in different batik fabrics and it was for sale in my Payhip Shop and a woman I know (although we haven't met in person) from Sew Powerful purse making bought it. 

A few weeks ago Sew Powerful had a purse making retreat in Texas and a couple dozen or so women got together there at the retreat. The woman who had purchased the patchwork tote from me was there and had her bag with her. Another woman who sat across from her got to chatting with her about the bag and found out I made it and she knew me from the Facebook group so asked about buying the same bag from me. So I made her this bag in colors she mentioned she liked. Funny thing is the woman who purchased this bag from me lived in Washington state in the same city I had lived in before moving to New Mexico. When I saw her address I knew the road she lived on. Small world! She has received this bag and loves it. That make me happy!!!

She likes purple, pink, turquoise, so I chose these batiks. This is the front of the bag showing some of the prints. I set the fabrics in a diagonal, so they don't all show on each side.

This is the back of the bag. I think I should have straightened the photo as it looks like it is tilting to the right. The zipper is straight, but photo make is look like it is leaning right. I added a vinyl zipper overlay to this zipper, which I didn't do on the first bag I made.

Inside the zipper pocket. I thought this fabric made a pretty lining.

One side view.

The other side view.

Inside is a divided slip pocket with pen pocket. I had forgotten to add the magnetic snap, so I had the sew on kind and sewed it on. Good to have those snaps on hand just in case. I guess my label by the snap wasn't placed exactly centered 😜. Too late now. That's a first!

Pen pocket and 2 other pockets.

I included a little wallet and a medium size Portable Pocket too.

Portable Pocket and Little Wallet. 

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2 Dancing Diamonds Gem Bags

I had a custom order to make 2 Gem Bags, one with green accents and one with blue accents, but the patchwork was to include other bright colors. So I chose to use batik fabric for the bags exteriors. The green one is made with all batik fabric and the blue I used a commercial fabric for the lining, straps and sides as this blue looked the best with the bag.

I made some modifications to the bags. The noticeable change I made is that I added strap connectors with metal hardware and normal straps and also added strap ends and rivets for extra strength for the straps and connectors. The pattern inserted grommets and then made a long narrow strap that threaded through the grommets and was tied with a knot to keep the straps in place. Well that not only looked less than desirable to me, but one good yank of the strap and I could see the straps popping out of the grommets and damaging the bag. I think what I did looks so much better and will function better too.

Another change I made you cannot see, but I added a heavyweight stabilizer on the bottom of the bag, inserted between the lining and exterior and then I quilted the entire bag, which keeps the bottom stabilizer in place. I also added additional interfacing on the lining piece too. I used fusible fleece rather than foam too. It has the same look and stands up like foam does, but without the squishy feel of foam. Some people love foam, others don't. I like some of the properties of foam, but I prefer fusible fleece with added interfacing to achieve a similar structure and costs less too. There are other more costly materials to use for structure such as Decovil light and heavy, but it's the most costly to use.

I also curved the bottom of the side pieces instead of sewing darts there. I thought it would be easier to do and it was. 

I am really pleased with how these bags turned out. I will be delivering them to the woman who ordered them later today.

Front of the Gem Bag with green accent.

Side view with rounded bottom for sides. As you can see in the upper left, I ran out of this green batik print so added a piece of the green lining fabric there to make up for it. I like that look, especially for straps.

It's a big roomy bag inside. The bag exterior and lining are quilted all together and then the sides and binding is sewn to cover up all the raw edges.

The back side of the bag.

The blue accent bag.

Side view.

Back side of the bag.

Inside the roomy bag.

Side by side the green & blue versions.

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The Ruffled Runaway Bag from ChrisW Designs

ChrisW Designs newest pattern release is The Ruffled Runaway. It's a smallish tote style bag that features a large slip pocket on both the front and the back of the bag, plus 2 side pockets as well. Those ruffled handles are so sweet! Add piping or not on the large front slip pockets. You can also add a grommet at each side and clip on a cross body strap if you want the option of wearing it across your body. I thought it was perfect just like this without the cross body strap, so I didn't add one.

The bag measures 11" wide x 8" high x 3" deep.

(There is discount code for the pattern at the end of this blog posting, good for 3 days only).

Here is my version:

Made with 3 batik cotton fabrics. The main sunflower print batik and the turquoise accent fabric, plus the inside lining is also a batik fabric. I do love batiks!

I quilted the bottom base of the bag even though the instructions didn't call for doing this. Christine does have us quilt some bag bottoms and I added a double layer of heavy interfacing that is non fusible, so I felt quilting it would hold it all together better.

A slightly recessed zipper closure. I added a button on the zipper tab.

Back side of the bag is the same as the front with a large slip pocket. The piping is an optional feature to add.

I love sunflowers and I have/had several pieces of this sunflower batik print in many different colorways. I guess I was thinking of Spring when I chose these colors to use. Love those side pockets too. That's 4 pockets outside and one zipper pocket inside, for a total of 5 pockets on this bag.

Top view.

The batik lining fabric and zipper pocket.

The other side has no pocket and I didn't think it was needed as there are so many outside pockets.

Side pocket and depth of bag shown here.

15% off discount now through Sunday February 5 Australia Eastern Time, using code: runaway15 Go HERE to purchase the PDF.

Sign up for Christine's newsletter to be the first to hear about newly released patterns and also receive a bit larger of a discount (20%) on newly released patterns as well. The form is located on the right side of her website.

This was a fun and fast sew and so cute! 

And be sure to check out all the tester's versions of The Ruffled Runaway too on Christine's blog here.

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Twister Tote

I made this Twister Tote last month. The pattern is from Around the Bobbin. It is a fun bag to make and I love the Twister look as it's fun and playful. This is a good size bag too. It measures 15" H x 15" W x 6" D.

Lisa's instructions are excellent. If you don't have the Twister ruler or don't want to make the Twister section on the bag, Lisa shows you how to make it with just fabric instead; like using a fun novelty fabric would look great. The pattern is available in pdf or paper form. Your local quilt shop may sell Around the Bobbin patterns too, so have a look next time you are there.

And as usual I made some changes to the bag. First, I chose to use batik and hand dyed fabric instead of solid fabrics. Then I added purse feet to the bag, riveted my handles to the outside of the bag and folded over the center of the handles to form a tube-like handle for easier grabbing. Inside the bag I added a zippered pocket and a shorter slip pocket on one side and the larger pocket on the other side. I added Kam snaps to keep the slip pockets closed, since they have a wider opening.

Back of bag.

Inside is a large slip pocket on one side and a zippered pocket with a shorter slip pocket across from it. Bag closes with a magnetic snap.

I added these 2 pockets, the zippered and slip pocket with a divided pen pocket.

On this slip pocket I added a pen pocket on the left, but the remaining pocket was too small to divide it again and a bit too large as is, so that's why I added a Kam snap to keep the pocket closed when not in use or when small items are inside. If something fits that is large and sticks out the top of the pocket, that's okay.

This pocket was part of the pattern and you were supposed to make 2 pf them, but I made one and the other pockets above instead. I didn't want to divide this pocket in half as then the 2 sides would be too narrow and not as useful, so I added the Kam snap here too to keep it closed.

I added a heavy interfacing to the bottom of the bag and then added purse feet to help keep the bottom clean. 

Lisa has another Twister bag called Simply Charming Twister Tote and I hope to make that one sometime in the next few months. It's really cute too. It is a little smaller than this one. These Twister totes are so much fun to make the Twister part and so useful to turn them into a bag. It satisfies both my patchwork-quilting and bag making creativity.
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Gracie Bag @ 80% with Hot Air Balloons

I wanted to try making another Gracie Bag (by Shamballa Bags), but reduce it in size. I reduced this Gracie Bag to 80%, which is still a nice size without being too large. I also thought it would look great with some hot air balloon fabric. 

I paired this Gracie with a multi-colored batik fabric and some green fabric I hand dyed years ago. Just barely had enough of the hand dyed fabric I needed for this bag.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started yesterday and I wish I could have taken all my hot air balloon bags with me to sell at the show, but the cost to sell in the huge arts and crafts tent there is way out of my price range. So this and the other bags will go to the shows in November, where I hope they will go to good homes and be loved.

I love how real these balloons look.

Okay this is funny. Now that I am looking at these photos, I realized I forgot to add the rivets to the straps! LOL! I will go and add them now, but I will have to add the updated photos to this posting when I get the photos later. Sometimes you see things differently in a photo than in person, lol! 

Back of the bag. I added a slip pocket that is really needed to have outside the bag and the back was the perfect place for a pocket.

Here is a closer look at the slip pocket on the back of the bag.

Still a lot of room for a smaller bag.

One zippered pocket inside the bag. I forgot to add my zipper pull before taking the photo.

Here is the zipper pull in this photo.

Got the rivets added to the straps, whew! Now it looks a bit better and more balanced, lol! Glad I caught that before I took it to sell at the craft show next month!

Back of Gracie with added rivets on straps.

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