Monday, January 21, 2008

D(ecorate)IY Messenger Bag

So my craftiness has been nil lately. I still have Christmas projects to post about, but first I'll post about something I worked on recently (that was a Christmas gift) and I'm continuing to work on.

K's grandma gave me a bunch of sewing notions for Christmas, as well as a small tan messenger bag that came with embellishments you could add on. I sat down with it last Sunday and had some fun cutting out the iron-on transfers and designing it. This is what I came up with:

Messenger bag (on dressform)messenger bag

The transfer sheets had all different shapes, patterns, and themes, but most of them included stars, so I made a pattern of stars falling from the upper right to the lower left. I mixed all the colors together and designed it so the stars were closer together at the bottom, like they were collecting in the corner. I like it. :-)

Close-up of bag

For the shoulder strap I used one of the fuzzy letters for my initial and two of the swirly transfers to give it some color.

Strap close-up

My only complaint about the bag is that the fabric is very lightweight, so it doesn't have a lot of structure. It is a small bag, so it's unlikely, especially as I'm no longer a student, that I would be carrying around big rectangular books and notebooks in it that would give it a good shape and some stability. I'm going to put a lining in it with a sturdier fabric. I'm not yet sure what the fabric will be -- perhaps I don't have it yet. But I think it'll contrast or compliment nicely with the star motif and tan color. Once that is done I think I'll get a lot of use out of it. I really like this project, as it was a gift, but I still get to alter it and add my own personal touches because that is the spirit of the item. :-) Thanks, K's grandma!

3 comments:

Opal said...

Messenger bags are great for holding patterns! And the yarn and hooks/needles for projects.

Yours looks fantastic. :)

Ms.Moosie said...

I think your idea about the stars "collecting" in one of the bottom corners is wonderful! It looks great!

Bee said...

Yeah, it would be great for little projects! I think I'll know better what I want to use it for when I finish the lining.

I chose the star pattern like that because I felt it gave it dimension and drew attention to one corner, rather than the entire bag. I think it gives the eye a focus, and I really like it when it isn't in the center.