Large Overnight Bag

[little me]

Like many of you, I thought of doing the Amy Butler Weekender bag, but was intimidated by the piping (only done once – not good) & the modifications to the pattern. I decided that I could make my own bag & it would be ‘my bag’. Long story short, I had back probs for 4 months & the bag was put on hold. After starting the bag, I ran out of fabric, had to modify the pockets & really messed up the zipper so I had to re do the zip – it was not pretty.

Because I ran out of fabric for the pockets, I decided to use burgundy fabric & do some cut work of the flowers & machine blanket stitched them on after fusing them. It came out pretty good. I finally finished the bag several weeks ago & would like to show it off.

Here is the front (sitting crooked) – 1 large pocket w/a tab closure so bulky items can be carried:


Here is the back  - 2 pockets:


Inside – 2 pockets on each side:


Bottom – I decided to put on 6 feet for stability:


I also added a floor – I used a double piece of quilting plastic & covered it. I made the cover a ¾” bigger on all sides to create a skirt so nothing can fall underneath & get lost.

The dimensions are 14"x17"x4". This bag is now in Hawaii being enjoyed by my daughter & will be doing a lot of traveling w/her. The only thing different I would’ve done is made the bottom wider by about 2” – other than that it was pretty easy, once my back healed & I was able to focus on getting it done.

[craftycakelady]

Really nice work!  I like the appliqued flowers, they add a unique touch to the bag.  Looks great, you should be proud!! 

[kaz814]

This looks great.  I love the applique!

[DeeDee5555]

  Very nice! Great work  - I love the feet!! 

[gannon]

Great idea about the feet--this looks very nice, and the pocket fabric looks as if you planned it from the start.

[Wayward1]

That looks so professional! Nicely done--way to overcome your challenges!

[Linnybelle]

I'm scared by that pattern too, but your bag looks really nice.  The colors are so bright, I bet it fits right in with your daughter in Hawaii.  Great job!

[little me]

I like the appliqued flowers . . . you should be proud

Thanks craftycakelady. I've done flowers like this before & after I started doing this, I was happy w/it. I am proud of this bag - a lot of sweat went into making it.

This looks great.

Thank you kaz814.

. . . I love the feet!!

Thanks DeeDee - I love the feet too, I had never done feet before & they came out great.

. . . and the pocket fabric looks as if you planned it from the start.

Since I ran out of fabric, I really wasn't sure what I was going to do. The maroon fabric was my 2nd choice, the 1st was beige w/the flowers & it didn't look good. Thanks gannon.

That looks so professional! Nicely done--way to overcome your challenges!

I appreciate your comment Wayward1 - thanks!

The colors are so bright, I bet it fits right in with your daughter in Hawaii.

My daughter loves the bag, thanks Linnybelle.

[little me]

What I also made for this bag was a journal (forgot to pic it). I knew it was going to be challenging, so I wrote down key points so I'd remember them & after all was said & done, I sat down at my computer & started typing. It was very interesting that thoughts just kept coming - mistakes, failed attempts, triumps. I decided to make it into a book, I called "The Journey of this Bag", & I included a part of the melted zipper & the different elements that I had tried & didn't like - I was going to throw them out anyways, so I put them to good use. I used the maroon fabric for the cover & the flowers were the inside cover. It came out real nice & was very fitting for the bag. My husband said that it's a great idea to make a journal like that for bags - it gives the receiver an idea of what went into the making of their bag.

[Artkitty13]

This is really nice!  I love it!