FO: Boot Print Bag for Marisa

I saw this fabric about a year ago during one of The Sewing Studio's big sales and I snapped it up thinking I would use it for my sister. Marisa is a country loving girl who owns a few pairs of boots herself and would frequently ask me to praise ones she likes online. I knew that boot print fabric would be right up her alley, so I grabbed 2 fat quarters and 2 coordinating feather print fat quarters and stashed them away. Marisa is also a hair dresser and makeup artist, so a while ago the idea for a makeup bag got into my head. She had a specific request for her gift this Christmas, so I saved the bag idea for her birthday in July.

I've never made a bag like this before, but when I saw the Kismet Trinket Box pattern by Sew Sweetness I knew it would be the one to make in this case. I've followed Sew Sweetness for a long time, but I've never actually made any of her patterns before. Knowing I needed to make the bag the week after the Sewing Studio sale this July, I made sure to hunt out the foam interfacing I needed. This is a product I've never used before, so I had a bit of a learning curve with this bag. In spite of my trepidation (and the finished bags little flaws), I'm pretty happy with the result :)

So this fabric is a Maude Asbury quilting cotton called Square Dance in the Gray colorway. The boots each have different details and I tried to make sure the main panel that wrapped around showed off as much of the boots as possible. The pattern touted that any of the sizes could be made from a fat quarter, so I tried cutting out the biggest size square box bag only to discover that in theory it should've worked but in reality it would not. The actual measurement of a fat quarter is wide enough for the piece, but my fat quarter included 3/4 inch of selvage that I certainly didn't want on the finished bag. I was forced to cut the medium size because of this, which really turned out much smaller than I hoped and therefor seems a bit silly, but Marisa liked it so that's all that matters.

I deliberately fussy cut the top piece to showcase my favorite boot - it says Yee Haw on it, lol. I hoped it would be around the outside as well, but I couldn't get it to work that way with the section of fabric I had. Since the boots are such a large scale print, I decided to switch things up for the handle and use the lining fabric - another Maude Asbury print called Fringe in the pink colorway. Oh and I haven't told you about the foam yet! These bags call for regular interfacing for the lining as well as foam interfacing for the outside (you can use Annie's Soft and Stable, Pellon Flex Foam, Bosal In-R-Form (which is what I used), or even car interior ceiling liner. I ended up with fusible foam, which worked just fine, but technically the pattern calls for sew in. It was interesting sewing through so many layers after always making clothing. I borrowed my other sister's Wonder Clips and I's so glad I did because I don't see how you could make a bag like this with just pins. Sewing the zipper on was a challenging process, and I did rip out part of it because I didn't like how it was laying. I'm still not thrilled by it, but considering it was my first time sewing in an exposed bag zipper plus having all that thick foam surrounding it I'm ok with how it turned out. I used this fun blue zipper from my stash to coordinate but add a bit of color and I really like how it looks. All the top stitching is done in pink thread.

Here's the inside. I originally wanted to add a pocket to the lining, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it at the time. Now that I've put one together I think I could figure it out, so maybe next time it will have a pocket. I like the feathers though and look how the center back seam almost lines up - total coincidence I assure you.

And here's a closer look at the zipper area. This bag combined a lot of firsts, but I'm glad my sister was so pleased with it. I put a bottle of fancy nail polish inside and sent it to West Virginia with my parents a week after Marisa's birthday and they said she was thrilled. Her favorite boot is also the Yee Haw one :) So this was worth the effort to be a nice gift. I definitely plan to make more of this pattern - there are 2 other sizes and either square like this or circle shape to choose from, plus I bought a whole yard of the foam interfacing! It's nice to have a universally liked gift (who doesn't love a bag like this) that I can call upon if I need to make someone a present and have it be personalized without taking forever to make. Yay for trying something new and for well received gifts!

Summary:
Fabric: 2 fat quarters: Luckie by Maude Asbury - Square Dance in Gray (boots) Fringe in Pink (feathers)
Pattern: Kismet Trinket Boxes by Sew Sweetness
Notions: Bosal In-R-Form Fusible foam, Pellon SF101 interfacing, 20" blue zipper, pink thread
Time: 2.5 hours