Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A bag with a heart

So, today's post is about the bag I just finished yesterday.  The body of the bag has been finished for a bit, but I just had to attach the strap to make sure it was ready to go out into the world.

It's a bag with a heart!  One of my friends commissioned this bag from me, for her when she's out at burns and needs to carry her things with her and wants to do it oh-so-fashionably.  I think that she might end up using it in regular life, too, as I just see it as such a nice and functional bag.

You might notice that the heart seam at the top of the bag looks a little different left-to-right.  That's because the right hand side is hiding a secret zipper.
This is a pocket to hold sunglasses and other semi-large things that need to be easy-to-reach but kept inside a pocket.  This is the first curved zipper I've ever inserted. I was incredibly nervous and even thought about not putting this zipper in as it was.  But this was where it was requested and the only place I could really innocuously put a zipper on the front flap.  Through a little extra effort and a lot of planning, it turned out perfectly.  I love learning new techniques whenever I do a new project and I feel so much more confident having accomplished a curved zipper.

I added a series of zippers on the inside of the flap, including a water-resistant zipper (the heavy black one at the bottom).  The coils of the water-resistant zipper are backwards, almost like an invisible zipper, but with a large tab like there are on regular coil zips.  I also made a covered mirror which matches the bag and has its own special zippered pocket to live in.  These pockets are for all those little essentials - lip gloss, eye drops, car keys, cell phone, and what-have-you.
On the front of the bag - a pocket for cigarettes.  (I personally don't smoke, but my friend does, and I managed to scavenge an empty pack of Newport Reds from some smoker friend of mine.  This will now forever be my test-pack to make sure cigarette pockets are just the right size because I just think Newport Reds are some of the silliest cigarettes.)  It actually fits a lighter with the cigarettes, which is a totally awesome accidental bonus.
What's that zipper in the center back of the bag for?  That's kind of odd, right?
Nothing less than a pull-out and zip-off towel, complete with a little rose embroidered on the towel.  It fits into the large back pocket (which actually has one final zippered pocket inside, pencil-sized - for makeup, perhaps?) and can be zipped off to be washed or used elsewhere if need be.  This was at the suggestion of my boyfriend, who regrets that he can't just wash his bag's towel and must wash the whole thing.

I'm so excited to give this bag away to its owner.  I'm pretty positive she's going to love it.  She chose the lining/contrast fabric, which is actually a laminated cotton so it's waterproof and somewhat more stain-resistant as well.  It was really exciting to do a commission for someone rather than just doing sewing for myself or my boyfriend.  I'm looking to start my own Etsy shop, and this was one of the first steps out into that world.

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