After 9 hours, I'm still not done.

IMG_0216, originally uploaded by LauraXJune.

I was really looking forward to making this bag all week. Cutting all the pieces was pretty simple, but this was the first time I've ever worked with heavy weight interfacing, and it's kind of a bitch! It really makes working with the fabric tough, but definitely gives the fabric some attractive heft. There were a few things about the instructions I found to be perplexing, and the straps, once folded the requisite amount of times, ended up with THREE layers deep of the interfacing, so I had to undo, and cut the width of it down -- I didn't want my straps to be so thick. My sewing machine started acting up at the end of the night -- not surprising considering the weight of all that fabric, and a change of needle didn't seem to help. I didn't have it in me to start messing with the bobbin tension at that point (adjusting that while tired, I've found, can be disastrous), so I stopped for the day with just a bit of top-stitching left to do. The bag is a little more complex than it looks, it has a full, super nice, fitted lining with two deep pockets in it and overall I'm really happy with how it turned out -- I'm especially proud of my pleats, though I suspect the heavy interfacing has more to do with them than me. One lesson learned today -- all that ironing in between each step is well worth it. The bag looks really crisp and neat because I really took my time. There is a slightly smaller version of this bag as well -- I'm going to make one as a gift soon.