Last week I got my first real alteration job. I fitted a bridesmaid dress for a girl from church. I let out the side seams, raised the shoulder, and hemmed the dress. Boning, charmeuse, pleats... I feel like I Did A Hard Thing.
This unstructured beach bag was commissioned by my sister, who gave it to the almost-11-year-old girl she watches after school, as a birthday gift. It's made of printed duck cloth and bleached white canvas. Making a pattern was as simple as it gets: all rectangles. I drew the pieces directly onto the fabric. The square design helped with that. I didn't even need to mark the placement of the handles; I just followed the lines in the bag. I realized that a wide binding made out of canvas would be too thick and heavy, so the edges of the solid white piece are only folded under a half inch. For the same reason, the white lining on the handles doesn't extend the length of the bag. I cut the white underside of the handles on the bias: a very good decision, and I don't know why I've never done this with tote bags before. It lies smoothly on the shoulder. Cute isn't it? Andrea, who doesn't sew, came up with the design herself while we were at the fabric store.
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