A little sewing for me!

Last Christmas, I received the sewing book Sew What You Love: The Easiest, Prettiest Projects Ever by Tanya Whelan. There are so many cute items in this book to sew up, complete with patterns, I do not know why it took me so long to make something! The first project I decided to sew was the Amelie Bag. I already had the perfect fabric picked out for this bag, Amy Butler Lotus Morning Glory Linen. I have been hoarding this fabric for just the right project and I think it makes a great choice for this bag!

The instructions were very easy to follow and the bag came together rather quickly. I lined the inside with Amy Butler Lotus Full Moon in Slate. I did make a couple of changes to the pattern. I added an extra pocket on the inside and a snap hook as well to attach my keys to. I really like having pockets inside my bags. Helps keep everything organized especially in a bag this size.

inside of bag - kinda hard to see the pockets

so here is another pic with the pockets stuffed!

The Amelie Bag can really hold a ton of stuff. There are two size options for the bag and I went with the larger of the two. The finished dimensions of the bag are 38" wide by 24" tall. I usually have way more things stuffed inside this bag than are pictured above. There is usually an extra pair of pants and underwear for the little guy (we are in the middle of potty training hell fun), snacks, toys, my sanity ;)

As much as I like how the bag turned out, there are two things that I will do differently when I make another one. The first is to use sew-in interfacing instead of fusible - I used what I had on hand but am not really happy with the fusible for this particular project. The second, I will move the pockets up more on the inside. The instructions have you place the pocket 1" from the bottom of the bag. As it is, I moved the pockets up 2" and they are still too low. I would like the pockets closer to the top of the bag for easier access. Other than that, its great!

 

Up next from this book, The Everyday Knit Tunic - post to follow!

Thanks for stopping by!
Meghan

linking up:
girl. Inspired. and The Train to Crazy and Shaffer Sisters