The other week, having cut out the pieces to make a few cross body bags using a few different fabrics, I decided to get started making them. I created the pattern for this bag from a similar bag I already own and had already made one bag from the fabric from a skirt I bought from the charity shop for £1. I've been using this bag for the last six months.
Initially, I had made the body of a dark grey velvet bag with a mustard lining a week or so before, but was waiting for some webbing to arrive to finish the straps. Luckily, it came the day that I decided to sew up the other bags and so I was able to finish the grey one. Here's a picture:
I decided to add a patch that I bought a while ago, to add a bit of interest and colour. I'm happy with the finished result and I've now started to use this bag on a daily basis.
The second bag that I sewed was a blue camoflauge cotton canvas one. I'd bought a couple of bits of scrap fabric from the fabric warehouse the other week, along with some net fabric, zips and trimmings, paying £4 for the lot. The scraps I bought to use for this bag were a blue camo fabric and some paler blue cotton chambray that I wanted to use for the lining. I had also bought some royal blue webbing at a charity shop the following week for £1.50, which I decided to use for the strap, as it went so well with the camo fabric.
The fabrics for this bag were very easy to work with, as they were slightly lighter in weight than fabrics I'd previously used to make the same bag. This made it a much quicker and more straightforward make, although I did manage to break the sewing machine needle on the zip, but, fortunately, I had plenty of spares.
I was super pleased with how this one turned out too and I can't wait to start using it. I have some of this same fabric in a khaki colourway, which I'm intending to use to make another dungaree dress, so if there's any left over, I may make a khaki version of this bag too at some point.
Whilst I was in the flow of making these bags, I decided to proceed to make a third, that I'd cut out from some leftover pieces from a blouse I altered and posted about a few weeks ago. This fabric was quite lightweight, being cotton poplin and I teamed it with some cotton from my stash for a lining. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of cutting the patterned lining fabric from pieces that were not laid out in the same direction, but as I didn't have any more of this fabric I couldn't re-cut one of the pieces. As it is for the lining, it's not such a disaster though, as once my stuff is in the bag, it won't be too obvious.
This bag was easier still to construct, due to the even lighter fabrics utilised. I didn't actually have any co-ordinating webbing for the straps though, so once again, I had to order some webbing and wait for it to arrive. Once it arrived, I could complete the bag and attach the straps and fixings, which I had bought on eBay for £7.50 for 6 sets, making them about £1.25 per bag.
In total, for the grey bag I spent £1.50 on webbing and £1.25 on the strap fixings. The fabrics and zip were all from my stash and I think the patch cost £1 when I bought it a few months ago, so the total cost to make it was approximately £3.75.
The camo bag was a little more expensive to make, as I bought the scraps for approximately £2, the webbing for the straps cost £1.50 and the fixings £1.25, which totals £4.75. The zip was from my stash.
The leopard poplin bag cost £3.75 to make, as I ordered some special leopard print webbing for the straps, which cost approx. £2.50, the fabric cost nothing and the zip was again from my stash. The strap fixings were again £1.25.
For just over £12, I made three bags, so I can now enjoy changing them out when I feel so inclined, to match whatever occasion and outfit I choose. I think that's plenty for me to be going on with, but I don't rule out making others in the future, as they are very easy to make and wear.
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