An Adventure in Tote Bags

At the last ECMQG meeting, Marcy talked about bags.  She brought bags of all shapes and sizes, and since I've been on something of a bag kick lately, I thought I would try out some of the things I learned from her.

Unlike my attempt with the Wonky Scrap Basket, this time I followed instructions (I have a problem with that sometimes) and used both interfacing and headliner foam.  I had much better results.

The bag has double pockets on the outside and I used Pellon 808 fusible interfacing to stiffen the pockets.

It has a double pocket on one side of the lining...

And a zipper pocket on the other.  I had to have Marcy show me how to do the zipper pocket again.  I know I've done them before, but I couldn't remember how.  My recent attempts have been less than wonderful.

I know this sounds silly, but I really like the handles.  The polka dots make me smile.

The only problem I had was sewing the corners at the bottom.  My machine really didn't like 10 layers of fabric, 6 layers of Pellon and 2 layers of foam.  But four or five attempts and two broken needles later, I finally had the thing stitched down. 

And I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. 

Thanks, Marcy, for the inspiration.