Whew. Out of my system, at last

It's been in my head for a while, actually since I made my last bag. I saw this 'bagsket' tutorial over at Foofanagle and filed it away for future reference. The last few days it's been like a song stuck in my head...I had to make one just to get it out of my system. Of course I will now have to make more, that's just the way I'm built.

I did things MOSTLY as presented in the tutorial, but changed a few things (surprise, surprise). Rather than re-write the whole works, I'll just catch you up to date on my modifications...

First, I made it with a 10" circle for the bottom, bringing on an avalanche of math. The bag was originally 12" tall, but I cut it down to 10" later in the game as it just seemed too tall.

The inside pocket: It's the black floral stripe in the photo at left - I didn't use a piece of bias for the top edge, I just turned it twice and topstitched it. I stitched the whole lining to a layer of black batting (to give the bag some body, but did not use interfacing). The pockets are segmented to hold specific tools. Lines were stitched from edge to edge across the short width to create the divisions and add vertical strength to what will eventually be the up/down axis of the bag.

Bottom (no photo): fused Timtex to the bottom before assembling outside of bag.

Once the lining was placed inside the outer bag (handles already stitched in place) I ran a line of stitching around the bag to hold the two layers together and keep the lining from collapsing inward.

Photo at right: The drawstring top...
I combined two things here, attaching the top and covering the top edge.

I put the drawstring top on the bag right sides together, matching the top raw edges. I stitched around the top through all layers using a 3/8" seam.

Then I flipped the drawstring top to the inside and stitched in the ditch around the top edge (photo left). You can see below how it looks once completed.

Trust me, it will all make much more sense if you click on over to the original tutorial.


And here it is, pressed into service for it's intended purpose:

I made it because the cats have taken an unhealthy interest in my knitting lately. Now I can pull the top closed and they won't be able to play 'unravel' anymore.


Happy stitching,

Lisa