Winter bag for a friend

In August I posted about my friend Cyane and the bag I had created for her using fabric of her own design.  The fabric was printed at Spoonflower, a very cool business that will take your original artwork and turn it into yardage.  Cyane asked if I would make her a bag for the winter with some more of her fabric and this is the result.

My starting point was a fat quarter of quilting weight cotton so I knew I would have to use some ingenuity to create this bag.  My pattern stash turned up Vogue 8099, View B which I used with a couple of modifications.  The first thing I realized was that the fabric would need more body so I began by fusing it to some fusible fleece and channel stitching with topstitching thread between the motifs on the fabric. 

Adding a home dec fabric for the lining (along with some inner pockets) gave the bag plenty of structure.  I also combined the cotton fabric with a pewter gray linen which formed the bottom of the bag and the flap.  The Vogue pattern had only the flap and button as a closure.  Now, I happen to know that my friend Cyane has trouble with the contents of her purse spontaneously leaping out at unplanned moments so I felt that I should add a more secure closure.  I inserted a zipper into the top edge of the purse; the flap is purely decorative and folds over the zipper closure.  I added her monogram to the flap and bound the edge with some of the lining fabric.  The strap is made from the gray linen. 

This was a fun bag to make, and I hear the recipient loves it.  It arrived at her house on her birthday, an unplanned little lagniappe for a creative friend.  You can see other examples of Cyane's creativity at Snazzy Frogs and more of her fabric designs at Spoonflower.

Bag of the Week 33

Cyane’s Spoonflower Bag

I am very excited about today’s project.  This is a recently completed bag and it has a story to go along with it.

My friend Cyane and I went to college together and I recall being amazed at her extensive pink and green wardrobe (my public school upbringing had never exposed me to this degree of preppiness before).  She was, frankly, one of the preppiest women I knew in school.  She was also very artistic and creative.  This is a purse that I made for her though that is not the end of the story.  You see, Cyane created the fabric for this bag (with a little help from the people over at Spoonflower).

Cyane has a business called Snazzy Frogs where she sells her whimsical drawings and creations.  You can find her at the Charlottesville City market most Saturday mornings and also online.  Not too long ago she discovered Spoonflower, a business based in NC that turned her artwork into printed fabric (just like they can do for you).  One day while we were having lunch she showed me swatches of her fabrics and I loved the one with martini glasses.  I ordered a yard of the print in linen/cotton canvas and set out to make her a bag.  (You can see all of Cyane’s fabrics here or by searching for snazzy frogs on the Spoonflower site).

I debated and debated which pattern to use and finally settled on Simplicity 5606 (OOP).  I fused fleece to the outer bag pieces and added curved, piped pockets to the ends.  I used a white jacket zipper for the closure.  The handles came from All Craft Supplies. 

The lining fabric (a soft, light weight woven plaid) is fused with Décor Bond and features two sets of pockets (two along one side, three along the other).  I sewed in two labels, my Juliet Originals label (which I stitch out on my embroidery machine) and a Spoonflower label that was included with my order.

I have to tell you that this pattern was one of the most difficult bags I have ever sewn.  Setting in the end pieces was extremely difficult and it had to be done four times (two outer and two lining pieces).  In the end it all came together but I spit and fussed my way through it.

You will be seeing this fabric again, hopefully in a few weeks, as I plan to make myself a bag from it as well (thought rest assured I will be using a different pattern!)  I know Cyane is enjoying using her new bag and I hope you enjoyed reading about how it came to be.