I only found out about this contest a week ago, but was determined to do it 'cos I've been meaning to stop using plastic shopping bags for a while now. I only just finished it tonight; I've got a 6 week old girl who wants as much attention as my sewing machine does! So sorry for the weird nighttime pictures. Nothing looks all that great in a flash, but hopefully you'll get the idea.
I often walk Abby around in her stroller, going to the store and the library on foot, so I designed this bag to fit on the back of her stroller:
The shape of the bag is based on a diaper bag I have but don't use. It measures about 16" across, 14" high and 6" deep. I stole the flat bottom-brace from the aforementioned diaper bag and fit it inside the shopping bag, so it's nice and stiff on the bottom. It's made from beige cordurouy on the outside and stretchy grey-green denim on the inside, with a layer of vinyl (recycled from a torn laundry bag) in between for both waterproofing and insulation.
The design on the front was freehanded onto freezer paper and cut out. I borrowed the shape of the bird from one on Stencilry. (
http://www.freewebs.com/stencilry/) The leaves on the tree were stay-stitched, cut out, and tacked down by hand. I left the ends loose so they're more like real leaves. And just in case you can't read it, it says, "Planets don't grow on trees you know". Normally I'm a stickler for proper grammar, but the comma that should be in there just didn't seem right.
To keep it on the stroller, I sewed 2 D-rings on the back interior. I thread these through a bungee cord that connects to the stroller handle. The handy thing about this is that I also sewed two velcro strips just opposite the D-rings, so the bag can close somewhat (and I can hang my keys from them). Here's a close-up:
And of course, it's also got a normal handle so I can carry it around when I'm baby-free.
I hope you all like it. I had a good time making it, and can't wait to try it out.
