Violet Sews a Library Bag

The other week Child 1 asked me to help her make a bag for transporting her books to and from the library.



Becky and the kids are HUGE library users. They go at least once a week. The other week we had 70 items checked out. Books on tape, picture books, books for us to read to the kids, books for them to read to themselves, fiction and non-fiction for the adults, graphic novels for the kids. The Minuteman Network allows us to browse online for books in any of the 62 library locations in the region and order them to show up at our library. We take advantage of this constantly.

Child 1 and I sorted through the fabric stash and she picked out a red historic reproduction cotton print, which I also used a few years ago to make the top of some girl's regency dresses. I thought it would be a little lightweight to make a bag all by itself, so I proposed using some canvas to make a bag liner. She chose some 50mm black ribbon to be the strap, later changed to 25mm.

Using a model book, we sketched out a pattern on paper and she cut it out. We transferred it to the two fabrics and she cut the pieces.

She got some red cotton thread at the quilt store the other week, which we loaded up into the handcrank Singer 99. First she sewed up the red outer

Then the canvas liner.

I helped going around the tight curves at the bottom of the bag.

She thought of adding a pocket for her library card, so we put that on too.

Would have been easier before sewing the liner up, but it wasn't too bad to put on at this stage.

Next, the liner and the outer were sewn together all around the flap and opening, except for one stretch to be able to turn it. We caught the strap ribbon at the sides at this point as well.

The bag was turned and pressed. Child 1 sewed some reinforcements over the strap areas.

She whip stitched up the turning hole.

Finally, we trimmed and hemmed the ends of the straps and put them into a stainless slider from Strapworks.

She has used it several times already and is quite pleased with it.