The Campervan Bag

This campervan bag has been a long time in the planning!  Most of that time it was simply in my head, bouncing around (as ideas do).

I've been taking part in the monthly challenge set by Abakhan where I make something for under £15 (they very kindly supply the fabrics) and this bag is part of that.  I say "monthly challenge" but it would seem my months are quite a bit further apart than anyone else's!  

This bag is a pretty good size for a handbag/tote bag and fits all the basics in.  I made sure my Kindle would fit (for me, that's probably more essential than anything!)

It has lots of pockets...

which are always useful, of course.

It 's always difficult to photograph the inside of a bag!  The magnetic closure you can just see in the photo below was recycled from a tired old bag destined for the scrap heap (that could describe me as well as the bag - stop laughing! - it's really not that funny!).  Magnetic closures are easy to rescue as the metal prongs holding them in place just fold out ready to be re-used.

My version has a fixed length shoulder strap, but it could be adapted to have an adjustable strap.

The fabrics I used from Abakhan were this gorgeous starry pale blue cotton (they have it in other colours too - the red looks lovely)

and the stripey ticking-style lightweight cotton for the lining

Abakhan also supplied me with a large bag of orange buttons - ideal to rummage through to find the perfect size for indicator lights.  The grey buttons I used for headlights came from an old cardigan!

I also used a few scraps from my stash.  The retro style floral (on the bumper, on the centre of the front wheel, and on the pockets inside) was left over from a previous Abakhan challenge - it's one of those fabrics I've used in so many projects now.  It's been much more versatile than I ever imagined and seems to go with pretty much everything!

Being fabric, it's completely machine washable and I think it would make a fabulous holiday bag.  Let's hope for some sunshine this summer!  If you are thinking of flying to the sun instead of waiting for it to come to you (could be a wise move if you are UK-based) it's a lightweight and packable bag - or good as a cross-body bag for passports and stuff.

I'll be creating a pattern for this bag as soon as I can.  It always seems to take me forever to get a pattern together, even when the bag has already been made and pattern pieces drafted, so don't hold your breath (but do please check back at some point in the semi-distant future!).

Updated to add: sorry it's taking so long to get round to making this pattern, but I'm getting started on it now (May 2014).  It's all gone a bit mad recently on Pinterest and getting a lot of interest!  I'm hoping the pattern will be ready in a couple of weeks - mid-June, maybe.

Thanks so much everyone for all your interest!

Winter Sewing

I think sewing is one of the best things to do when the weather is bad.  Perhaps if I could knit or crochet, I would choose one of those as a cold-weather craft (if only for the curling-up-on-the-sofa factor) but for me sewing wins every time.  It helps that my sewing room is one of the warmest rooms in the house - although I tend to flit between the sewing room and living room as then I can have a full-size ironing board out and do my cutting on the dining table!  I do use a mini ironing table in the sewing room too (really very handy depending on the size of the project).

Let loose with the iron...

Keira (my 10-year-old sewing apprentice/granddaughter, above) has been making a tote bag with the fabric I got recently from Abakhan.  She loved the butterflies print (as I knew she would) although my favourite was the retro turquoise cotton print.

Keira was really proud of her first-ever handmade bag!

She even helped design it.

The photos are pretty dreadful - sorry! - it was an after-school project and the daylight had gone by the time we got to the photo stage.

I used some of the leftovers in a tiny project...

I wanted to leave the edges unfinished - I'm after an informal look - so I feel like it needs a wash to fray the edges before it gets its ta-dah kind of moment.  I'm thinking maybe I'll do it as a tutorial soon.