I absolutely love they way this purse turned out. I have been sitting on this fabric for two months waiting for inspiration for a purse pattern to hit me. It kept getting put aside for other projects. Then I got this great book for my birthday (thank-you, Ed):
Handmade Home is just full of projects I can't wait to make. The author, Amanda Soule, also has a wonderful blog called soulemama and another book The Creative Family that I don't own yet. I can't wait to tackle the braided rug she shows in Handmade Home:
And I fell in love with the "Mama's Bag" the first time I saw it.
Her instructions for the bag are very clearly written. A beginner could certainly follow them with no problem. The things I changed were minor. I added an extra inner layer of flannel to give the purse more body. I made the bag slightly wider and added about 4 inches in depth. I also made two simple inner pockets to the lining on the inside seen here:
The author's approach to sewing with scraps and repurposed textiles really appeals to me. It is something I enjoy doing myself, and the way she uses these items in her projects is really inspiring. For my own bag, I set a goal of not buying any additional materials to complete this project. While I had already bought the outer main fabric, I limited myself to other fabric, thread, scraps etc. that I already had for the lining and straps and other things needed to complete the project. I couldn't be more pleased with the results.