Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Making it up as I go along...

Recently, my husband got a new camera, and it came with an extra lens.  When he requested a drawstring bag to keep this lens in, I wondered if I could "custom" make one that would be just the right size and shape.

I've made a couple of drawstring bags before, using this tutorial by Jenny of In Color Order.  I thought I could probably use that tutorial again as a guideline, but change up the size and shape a bit to fit what  Mike needed.

Of course, the first thing I did was hunt around in my fabric stash to see if I had something that would work.   I knew I needed an outer, main fabric, and something for the lining.  Here is what I came up with - a couple of pieces of Comma, by Zen Chic for Moda.


I decided to cut my pieces 11 inches x 7 inches to allow for the seam allowances and space for the drawstring.


I added some fusible fleece to the wrong side of the outer fabric to give the bag some stability.


Following the guidelines of the tutorial, I laid out the pieces to get them ready to sew in this way - 


short end to short end, with the outer fabric in the middle and the lining fabric on either end.  I sewed each of those  short seams, then sewed everything into a tube, right sides together, leaving an opening for turning, and two openings to make a casing for the drawstring.

I decided to box the bottom corners just a little bit - 


and stitched an inch wide casing all the way around to pull some ribbon through for the drawstring.


And voila!  My idea worked!


My husband is pleased with the results, too!  I really enjoyed the process of figuring out what would work and making something useful for him!

Sharing at Sandra's DrEAMi linky at mmm! quilts - because this is definitely a Drop Everything and Make It kind of project,
and at Cynthia's Oh Scrap! linky at at Quilting is More Fun than Housework because I love making all kinds of things out of my scraps!







22 comments:

Libby in TN said...

Good job! Adding the padding was critical for this application.

Cathy said...

Well, that bag sure turned out nicely - congrats. Maybe I'll get to see it in September!

margaret said...

your plan worked so well the lens looks very much at home in its little house

Stitchin At Home said...

Isn't it great when a plan comes together so well.

Michele McLaughlin said...

Fabulous! Great job!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Nicely done.

gayle said...

Woohoo! Well done! Bags are such a satisfying quick project, aren't they? Especially when you can customize them so perfectly!

Julierose said...

Lovely drawstring bag--so perfect for the lens...hugs, Julierose

JanineMarie said...

A gift for your husband--perfect reason for a DrEAMi! And custom-made makes it all the more special.

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

It is always fun when we can make special gifts for those we love. Great job! It looks like it fits perfectly!

Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Kat said...

Those are great fabrics. I'm sure he's thrilled!

Linda said...

Love this! Comma was the perfect fabric.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh my gosh!! that is so awesome!!! and I totally need one of these!! ( PS what kind of camera did he get?)

Mary in Peoria Handmade said...

What a nice bag. Congrats on customizing it, too. Really cool fabrics. mary in Az

Vicki in MN said...

It's always satisfying to make something work with our own idea and dimensions-good job Diane! An added plus that he likes it:)

Kate said...

A very fun and useful bag. Great way to use up a few scraps.

Cathy said...

How cute!

Miaismine said...

Awesome finish! I love how you shared your process in words and pictures! Your fabric choices were perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!

Sandra Walker said...

This is super cool Diann! I know what you mean about the satisfaction of making something for our husbands--it has been some time since I made something (other than sew on buttons, hem pants) for my husband. Confession: the purchase of the first vintage Singer? HIs eyes lit up when he heard it was great to sew leather! Love Zen Chic fabric. Period. This is terrific. :-) Thanks so much for linking up and for showing what you did.

Preeti said...

Boy that was clever. Love the perfect manly colors. Of course he was pleased :-)

Sharon - IN said...

Nice bag and process! I do like Jenny's designs of In Color Order!

PaulaB quilts said...

The fusible fleece was a great choice to pad the bag for that special lens. And the manly colors are perfect. Great adaptation.