Bagmaking: IPad mini case and more zipped cases

A little while ago my old school friend Fara ordered some small crossbody bags for her daughters. Very simple, but they fit their nick nacks.

More recently she requested I make another one, slightly wider, to fit one of her daughters friends iPad minis. As the girls name is Rose, she wanted a pastelly rose fabric on the outside, so I sent her some links, and she chose this pretty print from Kaela Elliot.

I used this crimson polka for the lining, which came from the same shop

This is the back.

I also made a few more zipped cases for an Etsy commision:

and a tulip case (free pattern by Clobird) for my mum

Bagmaking: The Manhattan Mamma

This is a bag of the month pattern, due for general release tomorrow from Emmaline Bags.

As soon as I saw it, I knew the fabric I wanted to use. This harbour scene from Makower.

Teamed with this Essex Yarn in nautical, and a busy bit of chevron for the inside.

This is such a lovely pattern.  There is something very aesthetically pleasing about the curve of the flap and the sides from the curved dart. I love the contrast panel at the front with its pocket, and the big zip pocket at the back. (There is piping on the panel, but you can't really see it here)

Mostly I love the fact that the flap opens to reveal another stash space!

You can make a zipper case or eyeglasses case to velcro in here, but I chose not to. (ok, I ran out of fabric - these things happen when you have the fabric before the pattern)

There is a slot pocket on the inside as well, and plenty of room inside the lightly padded body.

Overall, top marks for this pattern which is comprehensive and easy to follow. If I didn't have a massive list of 'to-do's then I'd make another immediately!

Little Crossbody Bags - got some bagmaking in!

These are my latest two makes. Thats the fabric I got from Voodoo Vixen popping up again!

These were a request from an old school friend. She wanted some simple bags for her girls just to carry their bits around. These have a zip on top, a zip pocket and removable adjustable straps.

At 7x9" they are big enough for a small tablet, but certainly a phone and other bits and bobs. 

These are lightly padded with fusible fleece, and I added piping. Just because.

I did use a pattern for these. Then immediately regretted bothering.

I use patterns because it takes a long time to acurately draught one, even a simple one. 

I bought this from http://tuesdaynightssewing.com/ and I couldn't make head or tail of the instructions. So I decided the best route to take was to bin the instructions and carry on with how I think the bag is meant to be constructed. It was pretty simple in the end - you just need to make sure everything is the right way up! 

If I did them again I would do curved corners, but I think these look ok.