I just can't find...

Ever find yourself starting a conversation with this line??

I just can't find... a perfect jacket, a really cute skirt you have in mind, or a perfect dress for a party.

Well I couldn't find the perfect weekender bag.

Okay I take that back. I HAD the perfect bag and 5 years, at least 50 trips and random in town events later it was headed to the weekender bag graveyard. So, I started my search for the perfect, simple bag... Why didn't someone tell me this was impossible for less that $400?!?!

All I wanted was a classic, clean line bag that was spacey and not too big or too small.

Again, why didn't anyone tell me it was impossible!?!?!?

So my gears started to work and I searched and I searched...

 

I found this...



and this...

and this...

But not in my budget.

So I did what we all do in this situation. I went to Pinterest.

And no offense to those that like them, but I HATE floral printed quilted bags... and that's all I kept seeing. So I took matters in to my own hands.

I found this free pattern that was the exact shape that I wanted. Weekender Bag Pattern

Since this was my first try I didn't want to just jump out there with an expensive real leather and I was not a "bag guru" yet. So I visited old faithful, Fine Fabrics. I found this faux leather that was pretty thin, but I planned to use a very thick interfacing with it to give me the stability I wanted.

 

The pattern was very straight forward and once I printed it I noticed that is was slightly smaller than what I was looking for in my bag. So I graded out the pieces to about 14 1.2 inches.

I picked this pretty purple satin for the lining

This was going REALLY well and I discovered that I could use a candle to seal the edges. I just lightly ran the cut edge along the flame to melt the edges to prevent fraying.

Of course I had a "design inspiration" while working and I embroidered my initials on the front of the bag.

I love the final product! It's just the size that I wanted and it's one of a kind! Now I'm totally confident in buying a more expensive leather and trying this again!!

 

 

HAPPY SEWING!!!