Big-boy bag

Today was a wonderful day off.  I finally got around to cleaning my car, cooked a nice dinner, and I did a whole lot of nothing.  It was great!  I did knock one thing off of my "to-do" list, though, by creating a new "Things I've Made" tab with quick links to all of the projects I've blogged about so far.  Check it out if you get a chance!

For some reason, I've had bags on the brain a lot lately.  Even though I haven't been doing a ton of sewing, I keep getting ideas for new bags, searching out patterns online for new bags, wanting to buy new bags...it's never-ending!  In an effort to keep up with this, I decided to share with you all today a bag that I made for Sean this year.  Since he was graduating and moving on to big-boy things, I decided he needed a new big-boy messenger bag.  I found this great tutorial, and gave it just a few tweaks.  Here is how it turned out: (photos courtesy of Sean)

I used heavy duty black canvas for the outside of the bag, with faux leather trim for the strap and to embellish the body of the bag.  For the insides, I used some light blue canvas to line the flap, and I used some hounds-tooth printed cotton for the lining and inner pockets.

 

Aside from fabric weights, I didn't really make any changes to the inside of the bag pattern, because I love the way it was laid out.  There is a perfectly sized laptop pocket, while still leaving plenty of room for other papers and books.  There are also some pockets for writing utensils, phone, wallet, and even a key fob!  While I was nervous to work with the "leather" trim, I'm glad I took the risk.  I think it gives the bag just the right amount spice on the outside.  I couldn't very well send Sean to work with a boring old messenger bag, could I?  Although I did try to keep the fabric choices professional, so that Sean wouldn't be the butt of any bag-related water cooler jokes.

I hope everybody had a lovely Tuesday, and thanks for stopping by!