Miss Independence Bag

Hey, how's it going? Check it out- I finally finished this handmade bag! I'm pretty excited about it. It's perfect in so many ways.

This bag is the Miss Independence Bag from the book Big-City Bags by Sara Lawson. I used Cotton + Steel fabrics for the exterior and interior. I bought the interior fabric for a different project, but when the fabric showed up, I realized that the colours were slightly different in person and would look terrible against my skin as a blouse. I was happy to see that it coordinated well with the fabric I had chosen for this bag.

Overall, this pattern is great. Sara's directions are thorough and clear. There were only a few wtf moments for me where I wasn't sure exactly what I should do, but I managed to figure things out :)

One particularly tricky part of this project was my old pal, binding. I love the way it finishes the bag and makes it look like such a professional job. Sewing the one side with the machine was okay, but I just couldn't do the other side by machine as suggested in the book and get a nice finish. So the inner side of the binding is hand-stitched. It took a very long time to do it because the size and weight of the bag made it awkward, but the result was certainly worth the added effort.

The main reason I chose to make this bag first from Sara's book was because I loved the size. I'm really enjoying it for work. It can hold everything I need it to. I changed one detail and opted for an open pocket on the inside instead of a zippered one, which has turned out to be handy for pens and lip balm.

For those of you still waiting for a handmade hairy beast, I'm getting so close now to finishing a batch. It's been a huge project for me that I've chipped away at for months and months on evenings and weekends. I think I've grossly underestimated the amount of time it takes for me to make them previously- which I see now can happen when you love what you do. I'm in the home stretch now and that feels great. It looks like I'll have them available for sale by mid-November. There will only be a few available- less than half the amount that have been requested of me, but I have ordered additional fur to make another batch afterwards. The second batch will include some wee ones as well, but I'm sure it will be several months before a second batch would be completed. Again, if you want to be one of the first to know when the hairy beasts will be available sale, please send me an email.

Also, I'm hoping to post a little Halloween craft tutorial later this month- stay tuned!

♥ Andrea ♥

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