I'm meeting my friend for lunch tomorrow. She had a baby a few months ago and this will be the first time I meet him. I didn't know what to make for a baby gift, so I reverted to my old stand-by: a bag. It's one of the few things that I can make well enough to give as a gift. And you can always use a bag, right?
It's a lined tote bag with pockets on the inside. My sister-in-law has a bag about this size that she uses fairly often. When she's taking my nephew out, she'll use it to carry his water bottle, a diaper, his hat, a sweater and a couple of snacks.
While I was making this, I realized how perfect lined bags are for interior pockets. When you attach the pockets onto the lining, all the stitching on the wrong side of the fabric gets hidden when you stitch the lining onto the bag. Excited with this new realization, I might have gone overboard with the pockets. There's a tall narrow pocket that fits a water bottle, a large pocket that fits letters or other mail, and a smaller pocket for keys or a wallet.
I used stretch knit fabric to give the pockets some give. I almost regretted this as I struggled with the pockets stretching and skewing and puckering as I was stitching. Eventually, I managed by using lots of pins (about 1 per inch) and releasing the pressure on the presser foot (i.e. putting it as high as it would go).
All told, I had a lot of fun making this bag and am really pleased with how it turned out.
It's a lined tote bag with pockets on the inside. My sister-in-law has a bag about this size that she uses fairly often. When she's taking my nephew out, she'll use it to carry his water bottle, a diaper, his hat, a sweater and a couple of snacks.
While I was making this, I realized how perfect lined bags are for interior pockets. When you attach the pockets onto the lining, all the stitching on the wrong side of the fabric gets hidden when you stitch the lining onto the bag. Excited with this new realization, I might have gone overboard with the pockets. There's a tall narrow pocket that fits a water bottle, a large pocket that fits letters or other mail, and a smaller pocket for keys or a wallet.
I used stretch knit fabric to give the pockets some give. I almost regretted this as I struggled with the pockets stretching and skewing and puckering as I was stitching. Eventually, I managed by using lots of pins (about 1 per inch) and releasing the pressure on the presser foot (i.e. putting it as high as it would go).
All told, I had a lot of fun making this bag and am really pleased with how it turned out.
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