Dr. D ordered the magnificent iPhone 5, so I will inherit his old iPhone 4 (no Siri! *sob*), which will be a huge step up from my dumb phone - a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go with teeny-tiny keyboard and ability to do nothing beyond make phone calls. Oh, did I say it could make phone calls? Strike that. The ability to make phone calls when I'm in range. Which would be almost never.
Whatever. The end result of this switch: I needed a new bag with separate pockets for phone and keys so my keys don't, duh, scratch up my phone! An added bonus: it should be large enough to hold Rowdy's baby basics, but small enough so I don't knock over adult men (my old diaper bag is the size of a guitar case). And since I'm
never happy with bags off the shelf, I decided to make one.
After a few days of obsessive pattern searching (free patterns of course), I settled on
this one, which shows how to make the cute-as-a-button diaper bag below:
A few alterations, like decreasing the overall size since I wanted a handbag more than a diaper bag, plus a week of maniacal sewing ...
I used a cozy orange wool that I had sitting around. It was too thick for hooking - a sad discovery after buying several yards (on sale). I'm so glad I had it! The pink is recycled wool from an hideous skirt I found at Goodwill, the appliqué likewise made up of recycled wools. the lining you see here is a cotton quilting fabric. Love it. The inner pockets are *not* waterproof PUL (as in the pattern), rather are the same cotton lined with recycled lining from another Goodwill find - an, ahem,
ugly-as-sin bold blue suit. Oh! And the bottom is blue faux leather I had leftover from fixing the seat of an old Jeep.
One side largely follows the pattern, an angled pocket and pleated tall pocket cased with elastic. Just right for a bottle (or other miscellany since I don't own any bottles!). The reverse side, however, diverged from the pattern a wee little bitsie.
Um, ok, maybe a lotsie. I added a second angled pocket with a second elastic side pocket (just right for a sippy cup! Yay!). Then added to the added pockets two additional front pockets (did you follow that without getting addled?) in a luscious brown which was, incidentally, a gift from the fantabulous
Mary Logue. She intended I use it for hooking, and I will use the rest for hooking, but it was just too yummy not to include in this bag. It was also used in the appliqué.
For the inside I took the pattern and said, "Bah! Who needs it!" More or less. I made a sleeve for my trusty iPad, complete with a little headphone pocket (Dr. D thought this was especially
anal retentive brilliant), and three smaller elastic pockets on the opposite side. Just right for wallet, checkbook, pens and pencils. Then along the top (which you can't see, sorry), is a deep pocket for the stuff I really don't want Rowdy getting into like lipsticks or vitamins. I boxed the corners so the lining would sit nice and flat.
Finally, I completely ignored the pattern's button closure, because I'd snipped a bunch of gorgeous bone and leather frogs off an old sweater. Finally, a perfect use!
So there it is. My New bag, made from mostly Old materials, customized exactly how I want, with plenty of room for me, Rowdy, and Froggy Friend.
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