Grab Your Bag!

What have I been sewing lately?

Cloth shopping bags.  The really easy ones from the template at Green Bag Lady.  I like that template.  You can choose to make the bags nicer by sewing the handles and then turning them and double rolling the inside seam to make it super neat or you can make them loose and fast and just serge the handles (no turning) and just fold the top once.  You can also alter the length of the handles.

I did all of that for these two bags.

This was my "fast and loose" bag.  I didn't double roll the top edge.  But I always sew and turn handles.  I'm used to turning things so it's no big deal.  That and I have zero experience with serging, so that's that.

The Star Trek one is for a swap.  Kind of.  It's for the regretsy swap.  Not exactly an angel but a kind of "make up" pressie.  I could have just told the person to suck it up (since they did get a gift from their partner) but that's hardly in the spirit of my FY14 Charity Challenge, right?  Yeah, I know that's more for the box o' fabric (and this star trek fabric was not from the box) but let's be honest.  I had a full yard of this fabric so I could spare enough to make this bag (the bag takes about 1/2 to 3/4 yard).  I still have some decent sized scraps for my own use (which will probably be quilty stuff).  And I already used a bit for some quilty stuff (some is in my postage stamp quilt and some is in a quilt square I made).  It's better to use the fabric and make someone happy (and get some sewing practice) then to just hoard it until it gets dry rot.

And just look at that bag.  How effing cool is that?  I'd crap if someone made that for me.  And (to be selfish again) it's going to be cheap to mail off.  I'm planning to make another small item (or maybe two) to go with it and get the package out in the mail on Friday.

This bag is for a swap bot swap.  It's a simple swap of cloth shopping bags.  I double checked that the Green Bag Lady tutorial would be appropriate for the swap and go the OK, so I sewed ahead on this one (it doesn't even assign partners for another week!).  I did double over the top on this one so it's nice and neat.  The handles (on both) are triple stitched with the center stitch fully back stitched (so it's almost like it's quadruple stitched).  I made the handles WAY longer than the tutorial calls.  Personally, I like a longer handle since I like to put the bag over my shoulder.  The tutorial calls for 18 inches long but that puts the bag right up in my armpit and I'm a sweat-hog so the bag gets musty if I'm carrying it for any distance.  Eeeww.  I think these straps are more like 22 inches or so.  I don't know for certain since I was using a scrap.  I didn't have enough fabric to make matching handles for this bag (only had 1/2 yard of this fabric).  You might not be able to see it in the pic but the handles are a yellow chevron print.  I was worried it wouldn't work but once it was all together I really like the look.  The whole bag is kind of loud and FUN.

Once again, this was some fabric I bought on a lark (because it was fun and probably on sale) not really thinking what I'd ever use it for.  And once again, I have a nice scrap piece I can still use for my own devices.  I just love the images on this fabric.  The one pic (it's on the lower right side of the bag) is a woman with two babies.  She looks so much like Lois Griffin (Family Guy) that I smirk every time I see it.  All the images go well on a re-usable shopping bag, too.  There's a butcher and a baker and a baybsitter and a dentist and milkman.  The colors are super bright and fun as hell.

The Star Trek fabric was from Joanne's.  The other fabric was from Fabric.com.  I think it's called "Who you going to call" (or something like that).

I hope my swap partner likes it.