the bag

as in the manly indiana jones carrier of found treasures bag.

this was henry's gift. i had originally intended to make it for his birthday back in august, but the cape, the cake, the planning, well . . .

i moved it to the christmas to do list and let it go. ahhhh.

so, of course i waited until christmas eve to sew this baby up. at least i had already cut the fabric. i'm getting smarter that way. i'm learning to cut and iron or iron and cut my next couple of projects or so at one time in the chance that i may find a moment to actually sew. that is if i take a break from knitting.

i knew i wanted to make henry a bag. he's a gatherer. he needed something for carrying his finds (and maybe a few of mine). it had to be durable and it had to be boyish. and i really had trouble finding a pattern i liked. then one day i happened upon this great pattern at mmmcrafts. i'm not quite sure how i ended up there but i am so happy i did. it was perfect! i only had to make a few modifications because henry is three and therefore short. so i shortened the strap (not enough) and made the bag itself a little bit shorter (i used one of his notebooks as guide). since i shortened the height of the bag i also made the exterior pocket a little smaller.

i have to admit i impressed myself with this project. the pattern was perfectly written and really couldn't have made it any easier, but i did things i had never done before in sewing. i made a bag with a liner! i added pockets!! i squared the corners!!!

i did have some troubles in the beginning and i am so glad they didn't deter me. when it comes to sewing it's too easy for me to let that happen. tension was a big problem. maybe because i was using a heavy fabric? i also tried using a heavier gauge needle and thread and then decided against it because the tension problem was getting worse. but, in the end i made it work.
and now the boy can tote his treasures. light saber, pez dispensers (aka action figures in our house), the infamous frog, and i can only imagine what else that bag will end up carrying.

i can't wait to see the treasures it carries home though!