Bag it up

I wanted a cross body bag that was big enough to fit a towel and swimmers for a beach day or a small dog from a pet shop heist. I got this ribbed poly from @fabricland, and the lining, webbing, binding, zip etc I already had.

I added a full-width section, a zipped pocket and a little pouch pocket on the gusset (gusset? yep, I’m going with gusset) lining before assembling the bag.

For the gusset (!) of the bag I sandwiched some thick upholstery fabric I had as offcuts to give it some extra strength.

After assembling the the three main pieces, I bound the seams with wide, satin bias binding. The lining was shedding everywhere, and I know I should’ve bagged it out, but I did not. And actually, the bound seams help to give it some shape and structure.

I stitched some grosgrain ribbon along the webbing strap for interest and used small pieces of webbing to make enclosed ends for the zip. I top stitched along the zip edges by hand as I wanted a bigger stitch that matched the pace of the ribbing.

And then it was finished. And I’m really pleased with it. It’s a keeper.