The week before our Denmark vacation, I had the sudden urge to make a bag for my MIL, but it quickly turned in to a “if you give a mouse a cookie” situation. Because if I made one for my mother-in-law (MIL) I also needed to make one for my sister-in-law (SIL) who was having a birthday at the end of the month. And if I was making one for my MIL and SIL, I should make something for my grandma-in-law (GIL). They all live close to each other, so I didn’t want to leave anyone out. Plus, they’re all really great and I was excited to make something for them.
I had plenty of time and lots of fun fabrics for them to choose from. So, I sent them photos of the fabrics and just said that I wanted to make them a “surprise accessory.” I wanted them to actually like the fabric, so that’s why I needed them to choose the one that they wanted.
These gorgeous canvas fabrics that I used for the outsides are from the lovely Pauline of @sewuthinkucan. She was fabric destashing a couple of years ago before moving, and I was able to snag some. The lining fabrics are all cotton fabrics.
This is the Made Belt Bag pattern that I bought last year but hadn’t gotten around to making yet, although I’ve been very eager to. I luckily made a test version first for myself (shown above) using the large size. I was a bit surprised about how big it was and decided the smaller size would be better for my gifts. This canvas fabric wasn’t nearly thick enough, so this one was pretty floppy and that bothered me. This first one has since been taken apart so that I can use the zipper for a better one in the future.
This is the second bag that I made for my MIL using the same fabric but with woven interfacing fused to all of the canvas pieces. I was glad it gave it a lot more shape. I also used a nice metal zipper and made the strap and hardware loops instead of using webbing. I followed the instructions from the Fairmount Bag pattern. The topstitching for the strap takes so much thread, so I eventually ran out of dark blue thread and had to switch to black, which is pretty unnoticeable.
I would not recommend this pattern to a beginner sewist just because the instructions are a bit hard to follow and can get kind of overwhelming. Luckily, she has a sew along that she links to on the last page of the pattern, which I forgot about until I was halfway done with the first bag. The sew along is very helpful though, and there are helpful tips that she shares throughout.
She also shares in a separate video how to sew a seamless lining, which I used for all three belt bags that I sewed. It was fairly easy and beats sewing binding onto the seams any day!
I am in LOVE with this second bag that I made. It’s for my SIL using the same fabrics that I used for my Freya Tote and Laura Pouch. This canvas is a tiny bit thicker than the last one, so it’s a little more structured with the woven interfacing. I love this fabric so much and think it turned out so cool with the matching strap! I have a good-sized piece of this fabric left to make another bag, but sadly not enough for another cool strap like that.
The last bag that I made was the Laura Pouch in the large size for my GIL. I would have made another bag, but I was unfortunately running out of hardware.
I tried SO hard to make a little hand strap, but it was not happening and the tension on my machine was terrible every time. I think I tried like 5 times and then ran out of matching thread, so I had to give up. My GIL is a great seamstress though, so I gave her a big enough strip of the fabric to make her own if she really wants to.
My MIL loved her bag, and she took the other two bags with her to the US after our vacation with her in Denmark.
I’ve done so much selfless sewing lately! Normally I do it kind of begrudgingly, but I was actually starting to enjoy it. Now that I have a lot of things in my closet that I like to wear, I feel less pressure to hurry up and make more things for myself. Not that I’m going to start taking commissions anytime soon, but it’s fun to make nice things for the people closest to you.
Thank you for reading today’s post and happy sewing! xoxo
Sharing Joy:
I made an Ikea order last week and was so happy when it came. I got some kitchen organizers and food storage containers that I have been really wanting. I was getting kind of sick of everything being twisted closed with a clip haphazardly stuck on it. I sent this picture to my mom because it brought me so much joy to finally see everything in the cupboard without having to dig around.
