This evening we got home from a perfect sunny family weekend in Southern Jutland. Now, the children are in bed, and I’m seated in the couch with my laptop. I thought I’d tell you about some of the things I’ve made recently. I have made most with the help of tutorials, so I have some nice links for you as well.
This first one has become a favourite of mine already. I used a tutorial from mmmcrafts for a basic messenger bag and this tutorial gets my best recommendations – it’s as good as any pattern you can buy. Thumbs up, Larissa! 🙂
My inspiration for my rendition with the bias tape around the flap came from this beautiful version that she made herself. I widened the strap a bit to make sure it’s comfortable to wear, and I used sew-in interfacing to add body to the bag. I’m not too sure about the flower on the flap, but it’s a bit too late for that now. We’ll see what I come up with next time I make this.
This is a bag I will be making again for sure!
So second up, I made doll diaper bags for Ronja and Frida. It all started because I had promised Frida to get her new diapers for her Baby Born doll – I got her diapers for premature babies, because they are much cheaper than the ones in the toy stores. When I got home with the diapers, it quickly came up that she didn’t have a diaper bag to carry them in. Sooooo, I promised I’d make one for her. Ronja heard. Ronja hardly ever plays with that kind of dolls anymore, but if I was making a doll diaper bag for Frida, she needed one as well. What can I say…
I made these two diaper bags in an evening following the Pretend and Play Diaper Bag tutorial here. The girls picked the fabric themselves. The construction of these bags is slightly different compared to the messenger bag above, since the shell of the bags is quilted with batting, which is also what gives them kind of a diaper bag “feel”. The bag has one big room on the inside, and a small pocket on the flap. The tutorial doesn’t mention measurement and placement for the pocket, but I measured the feeding bottles to get it right. Make sure you don’t place the pocket too high, though – you don’t want it to go reach to the top of the flap.
I was planning to make some other stuff as well, changing pads and sewn wipe cases with fabric wipes in them, but I was called to the kindergarten, because Frida had fallen over and hit her head pretty bad. So I spent my afternoon in the emergency room where Frida got stitched up, but at least, when we got home I could cheer her up with the new diaper bag. Both the girls love their bags, so they were worth the effort! And Frida’s head is fine as well.
The latest thing I made is an iPad sleeve.
I actually treated myself to an iPad 2 two days ago (LOVE), and I wanted to bring it with me on the family weekend, however I didn’t have anywhere to put it. I whipped up this sleeve in just under an hour (well, that’s quick for me!) based on this tutorial.
The tutorial is great, I followed her measurements exactly, and the result is good. However, the fit is a bit too tight, and if I were to make this again, which I just might in order to get it quite right, I would take out half a centimeter from the fleece lining compared to the outer fabric on each side. I made the fleece the same size as the outer fabric, and it’s just a little bit too bulky on the inside which means it takes up room that was meant for the iPad. Also, I would add an extra centimeter to the length of the outer fabric. If I make this again, I will let you know the measurements for the iPad 2 that I find to be the right ones.
As usual, I try to gather the tutorials that I like right here – you might find something you like as well!
Thanks for pointing these out, I want to try the messenger bag. It is really cute!
What wonderful bags! As I said on Flickr, I have made the messenger bag, it’s such a great pattern. Like you say, as good as any pattern you’d buy.
Hi Astrid.
Your messenger bag is lovely, and that Kaffe Fassett fabric you used for the diaper bag is one of my favorites. But where did you get your lovely ‘Connecting the dots’ labels?
Thank you, girls! 🙂
Ana – I got my labels from Sweden, because I can’t find quite what I want in Denmark. I order them online, right hereI got my wonderful woven labels here. I think you can even choose to see the site in English. 😉
I just came back to re-read this post, and read it slowly and properly this time! I hope Frida is ok after her fall. Poor little pet..we had a fall, and stitches (glue) a while ago with one of our little ones. I hate when anything like that happens. Sending good wishes Frida’s way!
Hello – I found my way to your beautiful blog through a comment you left on the tutorial for the diaper bags you made. They are lovely and your girls must enjoy them so much. I want to make a few for Christmas this year and I had the same exact question you had. I was not sure what you need to pin at the bottom of the bag and where you have to sew (is it a measurement from the center seam of the bag?) to make the boxy messenger bag shape. Any help you could give is greatly appreciated!
Hello, i dont sew or anything. viewing on mmmcrafts i saw your comment and follow it to here. is there anyhow you could make me a messenger bag?
Hi there, Annie. No, I am sorry, but I don’t sell my stuff. However, I know that there are lots of sweet messenger bags on Etsy.com – take a look there. Good luck! 🙂