The Many Faces of the Parisian Travel Bag

It's a very rainy day here in Chicago. As I type, Gracie is sitting behind my recliner, doing her best to find a little comfort and protection. She can be such a bold dog, but when it comes to a rain storm, she's a quivering, quaking mess. Poor dog. 

I met a lovely woman who does memory boxes for people who have lost an animal. I've gathered up all of Little Bit's things, her bowl which has a footprint in the bottom along with a heart, her foot print, a tuft of her hair, her name tag and collar, and now a picture. It has taken me quite some time to choose a picture, but I finally settled on the one below. One of her favorite things to do was go on a hike. She was so very happy on a trail, running along ahead of me, turning back from time to time just to make sure I was still there. Her little collar is one that I made, little Lady Bugs that encircled her neck. She was truly loved :) I'll share the memory box once it's finished.
     

Earlier this week, I was in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I did a presentation on Tuesday night for the ASG guild meeting. On Wednesday, we made the Parisian Travel Bag. 

   

I initially had the idea for the bag as I was so very tired of having the weight of a carry-on bag on my shoulder. Traveling is tiring enough without the added weight of something heavy on your shoulder. 

The backside of the bag features a pocket that slips over the handle of your rolling bag. I added a zipper as I wanted a place to safely store my I.D. while going through security. It's also a great place to stash a little money for a sandwich or drink without having to pull out your entire wallet. 

The front of the bag has a slip pocket which will hold a reader...or an old fashioned book ;) Yes, some of us still read actual books(stone-age leftover that I am!). Inside the bag is another zippered pocket that hangs so it can either be left to the side of the bag, or placed on top of your clothes for easy access when the bag is unzipped. 

So I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the finished bags from the Kalamazoo class. Everyone did such a wonderful job, and no two were alike.

This is JoAnn. She ordered her fabric from Fabric.com. She said that she was initially disappointed with how large the birds were, but once the bag was finished, she loved it. I like how she placed the pocket so that the bird looks as though he is sitting in the leaves :)  

Great care was taken to arrange the fabrics just so for this bag. Lots of sweet details that you might miss if you don't look closely. She actually placed a trim between the side and bottom of the bag. When she pulled out her strapping, I asked if she wanted to leave it black or add a trim. Initially she thought that she would leave the strapping a solid black, but the added trim down the center really makes it pop.   
  

This is Becky and JoAnn with their bags. More on Becky in next week's Wednesday Showcase post.

I love how the striped strapping works with the fabric choices.

They are actually smiling at the end of the day!!! 

This bag is so lovely. I wish I had taken a picture of the opposite side as she centered a medallion for the slip pocket. Made the bag look so sharp.

Sadly, I didn't get pictures of all of the bags, but at least you get an idea. 

Once I return from the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals conference in Orlando next week, I will be making the Parisian Travel Bag along with the companion bags available as a paper pattern available in my Etsy store. 

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday and that you find a little time to do something just for the fun of it :)  

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/Toiletry and Lipstick Bag

The first of this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a bag making class for the Peoria, IL American Sewing Guild chapter. It was a packed day, but everyone left with a finished tote bag. I named the large bag, The Parisian Travel and Market Bag. The companion bags are a toiletry bag and a lipstick bag. Now the smaller bag can be used for anything. It's especially great for small items...like lipstick, cotton pads, or anything that could possibly get lost in a larger bag. 

The toiletry bag has a front zippered pocket, great for combs, nail files, anything that's rather flat.

Both bags have a gusset that allows for plenty of storage room.

October is my official blogging anniversary. Now, truth be told, I did 1 blog post and then went months before I ever posted again. That was in 2009, so 7 years ago. Amazing!!! In reality, I've been blogging on a regular basis since 2012. But since October is the official anniversary, I thought I would do a little something special today and give you the patterns for the toiletry bag as well as the lipstick bag. Nice :) You can find the Lipstick Bag and Toiletry Bag patterns HERE.

In the true spirit of Fabulous Free Pattern Friday, I am going to make you draft the gusset for the toiletry bag. You will need to draw a rectangle that is 4" x 27 1/2".  

For the lipstick bag, you will need a 7" dress weight zipper.

For the toiletry bag, you will need a 9", and a 14" dress weight zipper.

The bags require 3 1/2 yards of piping. I like to make my piping from cording that can be purchased in the home dec section.

All exterior pieces of the bag are interfaced with a woven cotton interfacing, including the pocket pieces. The lining is not interfaced. I light to use a medium weight home dec fabric. Waverly fabrics are my favorites. 

Begin with the front toiletry bag pocket. Press in a 1/2" seam allowance on both straight edges of the top and bottom pocket. Align the 9" zipper so that there is 3/8" seam allowance on either end of the zipper.   

Edge stitch the zipper in place.

Baste the zippered pocket to the front of the bag.

Sew the exterior gusset to the lining gusset at either end with a 3/8" seam allowance.  
From this point on, all seam allowances will be 3/8". Turn the gusset the right side, press and edge stitch the ends. Baste the side seams together.

Make the piping. Cut 3 1/2 yards of piping strips 1 1/2" wide. Sew strips together as you see below.

Once sewn, wrap the fabric around the cording and stitch together with a zipper foot.

Sew the cording to the front and back pocket panels, beginning at the bottom of the panel. Leave approximately 2" free. 

Open up 1 end of the cording and reveal the cord. Lay the opposite cord next to the exposed cord and cut away so that the cording from the opposite end will lay inside the bias strip.Be sure to fold back the raw edge. Wrap the fabric around the cording and stitch down.

Transfer the small dot from the pattern onto the front and back. The zipper will be sewn from 1 dot to the other.

Fold back the seam allowance of the piping and align the end of the zipper with the dot at 1 end. The teeth of the zipper should be even with the edge of the piping. 

Fold back the end of the zipper tape prior to sewing.

Stitch the zipper to the bag by sewing from 1 dot to the other and stitching in the ditch between the bag and the piping.

As you can see, the zipper will be longer than the top edge of the bag.

Now install the gusset. Transfer the larger dot to the bag. The gusset will be sewn from large dot to large dot. 

To sew the lining to the bag, simply match the right sides together of first the front.Stitch the lining from small dot to small dot, leaving the top edge of the lining open. Once sewn, turn right side out. Repeat for the back side of the bag.

Hand stitch the top of the lining to the zipper. 

In order to have the gusset fold into the bag when the bag is closed, the gusset will need to be stitched. 

Simply fold the gusset with right sides together and stitch down from the top edge 2 1/2".

To finish off the end of the zipper, sew a square tab to the end. The end of the zipper can be left outside the bag, or tucked inside.

The lipstick bag is sewn together the same as the toiletry bag, minus the exterior zippered pocket. When stitching down the gusset, stitch it down 1" rather than the 2 1/2" as was down with the toiletry bag. 

The bags are finished and ready for an adventure!

The companion bag will be available for purchase in a few weeks. It features a top zipper as well as an interior zippered pocket. What I especially like about the bag is the zippered slip pocket. The pocket slides over the handle of a rolling suitcase. With the zipper at the top, you have a safe and secure place to stash your ticket as well as your I.D.

Hope you enjoy making the small bags!

Let's see what the next 7 years bring :) 

Rhonda

Bags That Make Travel a Breeze

Over the weekend of September 30th, and October 1st, I will be in Peoria, IL doing a 2 day seminar. The first day will be an entire day of sewing. Fun!

I was asked to do a bag where the participants would insert zippers as many are just not that comfortable with inserting zippers,after all, zippers can be a little intimidating. The large bag will be our primary project.   

The bag is fairly basic, but very user friendly. I have always wanted a truly coordinated traveling set, and now I have one! 

To give a little more stability to the bag, there is a facing along the top. Hanging free from the facing is a large interior pocket with a zipper.

On the front of the bag is a slide pocket, no zipper, that will easily hold your I-Pad.

And here's my favorite feature...

The back of the bag has a zippered pocket that will slide over the handle of a rolling suitcase. So no more killing your shoulder trying to carry the bag.

As I said, the pocket has a zipper, so easy access to your boarding ticket and identification.

To coordinate with the larger bag, I made a toiletry bag and what I call a lipstick bag. The small bag is really meant for anything small that might get lost in a larger bag.

The toiletry bag features an outside zipper, great for combs, cotton pads, etc.

Both bags have a wide bottom.

The challenge with each of these bags is inserting the zipper where there is a piped edge. It's really quite easy to do.

If you live in the United States, I purchased everything for my bags at Joann Fabrics, even the fabric. They have some super fun prints in the Home Dec section.

I will be giving you the pattern dimensions, and a how to in an upcoming Fabulous Free Pattern Friday post. The pattern for the small bags will soon be available for purchase.

The Friday class for the Peoria ASG Sew Special '16 is full, but if you are anywhere near Peoria, and have a little time on October 1st, pop on over. You can read all about the day and sign up HERE.