Sewing in a zipper ~

What is it about taking a trip that sends me to the sewing machine? This time I decided we needed a new travel bag, maybe for toiletries or my ever growing knitting supplies so I turned to Heather’s book Weekend Sewing and grew in my sewing skills on Friday.

I usually do whatever I can (or have so until now) to avoid sewing in a zipper – I’ll use velcro, make ties, or sew an envelope opening (on pillows), but on Friday I decided to go for it, to try a pattern that seemed within my level yet still challenging.



So with a weekend trip coming up, I decided to give this travel bag a go as my first zipper project and am so pleased with the results. I wanted to use a solid outer cover as the pattern shows with a surprise inside. The outer fabric on the bag is a canvas/twill fabric curtain that I repurposed and the lining is some cherry fabric I’ve had in my stash for a few years.

I spent somewhere between 4-5 hours on this project, it did take me most of the afternoon, granted I have three little ones that come by often to check in with me. Also, make sure your outer fabric is heavy enough to help hold the shape of the bag. Enjoy~!

mad dash of sewing

Lena's bag, originally uploaded by homebirthmama.

The day before we left for our beach trip, I felt a strong urge to create something just for Lena for the trip. I ended up drawing up this pattern, made a quick "draft", then grabbed two of my favorite fat quarters and this was the outcome!! I made 4 pencil pockets on the inside for her Ferby pencils and a larger pocket for her small notebook. My favorite detail was the ladybug linen ribbon and wooden button on the front. (Click on the picture to take you to my flickr page to see a closeup of the front in my photostream!)