Took a moment to make myself a new purse, since my current one is falling apart. One of the great things about being a crafter and having all the supplies you need. My current purse was bought not too long ago (during Covid). Unfortunately, the strap is already ripping off from the bag. Instead of buying a new purse, I figured I would just try to make myself a new one. An easy decision to make, since I have tons of fabric, zippers, interfacing, basically everything. Plus, I figured making one would last as long, or longer, than buying one from a store.
After doing a search for a diy bag, I found this cross body bag tutorial on the Sew Can She website. This bag looks to be the right size, and seems easy enough to make. I like that it has both an exterior zipper pocket, and an interior slip pocket. My plan is to make this out of canvas, but I chose to first make one using quilting cotton.
My first bag was made with a couple prints from the Dear Stella's Pour Some Sugar on Me. The graffiti print chosen for the exterior, and the After Dark print for the lining, and accented with coordinating Moonscape. I love the graffiti print from this collection, and the little pop of yellow from the Moonscape in banana. This will probably not be in regular use, but it is kind of fun. I might pull it out to use every now and then.
I might have to make another one out of quilt cotton. This bag will look great with the Eclectic Elements fabric by Tim Holtz, which I have in my stash.
This bag has a convertible strap, which lets you wear this bag as either a cross body bag or a shoulder bag. I like to use a cross body bag to keep my hands free, but I love the option to convert the strap to just through this on my shoulder when needed.
The pockets provide the storage I need, which is similar to my broken purse. Enough pocket space to organize everything I need to carry with me.
Thankfully, this bag was easy to make, and each one I made in a day, or weekend. I was excited to make a second one out of a few canvas prints from the Glory collection from Cotton and Steel. The canvas one turned out perfect. This will be my regular, everyday purse.
If you have never made your own bag before, and even if you have, this is a good one to make. I am still a novice at bag making. Previously, I have only made patchwork tote bags, and was able to make this. I have already been browsing other bag patterns that I would love to make.