Camera Messenger Bag

Messenger-style Camera Bag

This bag was made for our photographer.  She requested messenger style with a few pockets.  I measured her camera and accessories then got to work sketching it out.  I can't remember how many times I re-worked those measurements!  I reviewed every tutorial I could find for building a camera bag and camera bag insert.  There was one thing I disliked about most of them - the 'padding' was simply a double layer of batting, at best.  And I'm sorry, but a camera that costs a few thousand dollars needs more protection!

So I set to work with 1" foam instead.  It was certainly not the easiest thing to do - all the seam allowances were more challenging, getting the foam to stay in place, lining up the pockets, etc.  In the end I tried everything to get the foam to stop shifting and I hope it worked.  I glued the edges to add some stability and did quite a bit of hand sewing to tack everything in its place.

It seemed like such a simple idea - take one of my regular bag designs and add foam.  Ha!  I don't think there will be a next time around for this bag.  

Custom Purses - Tween Style

It's that time of year - Handmade Holidays!  And you know I'm making up loads of handmade gifts and since we have already celebrated Christmas with my in-laws, I can go ahead and share some of the handmade goodness.  First up...purses for my nieces.

 I added their names and kept them so similar that you have to look pretty close to see the minor details that I changed from bag to bag.

I started with a fantastic fabric and planned a tween-sized, slouchy hobo purse but quickly figured out that I needed to make some alterations. I needed to make a flat bottomed bag so that they would easily stand up on their own. I needed a mid-weight interfacing so it would be stiff but still keep the softness and gather easily. My sister-in-law told me the girls love to keep their Nintendo DS with them, so I made sure to make a pocket just the right size.

Custom Order Bags, Totes and Purses

My best friend's daughter started dance classes recently and was in need of tote for her clothes, shoes, hair ties, etc. We recently spotted some awesome fabric - Aqua Plain Jane - over at Sew Materialistic and she just knew it would make the perfect bag for her daughter. She gave me a few guidelines - a zipper closure, two pockets for shoes and one small pocket for the hair ties. Oh, and of course, that it be sized appropriately for her daughter.

I designed a tote-size bag - 12"H x 10.5"W x 5.5"D - with 10" straps and a zipper closure.



The small pocket for her hair ties has a velcro closure and her name embroidered on the flap.


The oval shaped bottom allows for two dividers on the sides to hold her shoes so her clothes can easily fit in the middle.

I will be listing several styles of custom order bags in the shop over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, if you have a need or an idea - contact me and we can design a bag just for you!