I’m feeling quite pleased because I’ve actually made something other than clothes! In an ideal world I would be making quilts, make up bags and handbags galore but with only a limited amount of sewing time in the week I have to prioritise. As I always have a considerable queue of garments waiting to be made, all non-essentials get bumped to the bottom of the list! I did make a window panel for the bathroom a few months ago out of some Moomin fabric (I was going to make a skirt but realised I had to draw the line somewhere!) but this only involved cutting out a square and hemming it so not really classed as a sewing project!

This fabric actually came out of another of my late night online impulse purchases. I bought a metre of this Michael Miller Paris Ville fabric without really knowing what to do with it. I fell in love with the street scenes of Paris and initially thought about making a skirt, but I had second thoughts as I really didn’t know how much wear it would get or what on earth I would wear it with. (also I can barely get out of the house in the morning without spilling coffee down me so white is not a good colour)

I really loved the fabric and decided it would get more use if I made it into a bag. After a bit of a search around all the patterns on the web I came across this reversible bag pattern designed and free to download by verypurpleperson.com. This seemed to be a win win situation as I was getting two bags in one! I used some gingham fabric from my stash for the other side, which was quite thick, to give the bag some body.

The pattern and tutorial is really easy, I added patch pockets to each side and think I spent more time adding these than I did sewing the rest of the bag! It’s all stitched together inside out and then turned the right way through the handles. Then it just needs the top of the handles joining, a quick press and a bit of top stitching and it’s done!

The finished bag measure 20in (50cm) from the top of the handles to bottom of the bag and 16in (40cm) across, it’s a perfect size and can fit a surprising amount of stuff in it!

I used most of my metre of Paris Ville but that was due to matching the pattern around the bag and also the pocket. I only used half a metre of the gingham so you could probably squeeze the whole bag out of a metre.

I’m really pleased with the result, it’s a perfect bag for summer. It’s made me realise there’s more to sewing than clothes and I feel the need to dabble in some different projects!

Do you have any other sewing projects which you enjoy? Any good suggestions on what to have a go at next?