Patchwork Lunch Bag

DD has been in an art program at a local college for these past two weeks. The weekend before the program started, I made her a lunch bag.

The lunch bag:




With front flap open:



We used scraps we have accumulated from our own sewing and from a grab bag of scraps I bought from cascadelemonade's etsy. DD looked through all the scraps and picked the ones she wanted in her lunch bag. I then made them into strips, cutting them down if needed or placing shorter bits together into longer strips.

To make the pieced fabric for the front and back/flap panels, I laid all the pieces out on a lightweight woven cotton and zig-zag stitched over the edges of the strips of the novelty fabrics. The backing fabric makes it easier to sew the edges of the pieces and also adds stability.

I am particularly pleased with the placement of the pieces in the back/flap panel!

Back of bag:




Back of bag with flap open:




The strap is a piece of webbing that Sommersbreezeantique used as a ribbon to wrap a vintage dress I bought from her etsy.

I made loops of turquoise grosgrain ribbon to run the strap through, lapped the ends of the webbing and zig-zagged over the edges.

Detail of the strap attachment and stitching at the strap ends:



The strap is a long loop that runs through the two ribbon loops. When it is worn long, the "bottom" of the loop is under the flap, and the bag hangs from the flap. When the strap is worn short (doubled up), the bag hangs from the grosgrain loops. (This is how DD mostly likes to use it.)

The strap, long or doubled up:



The vintage button also comes from Sommersbreezeantique's etsy. She bought a big lot of vintage buttons from an older lady who did not want her buttons any more, but who did want money to go traveling with her friend. And we bought three big scoops of buttons from Sommersbreezeantique, which included two of these wonderful turquoise buttons. (So we still have one to play with.)

It was a lot of fun making this bag, especially working out the how to place the pieces. I am particularly pleased with the placement of the two pirate pieces, on the front of the bag and on the flap, so they are close when the flap is closed. DD is particularly pleased with the little bit of cowgirl and chicken at the base of the bag.

Close ups of the patchwork detail and vintage button:







I made DD a purse for summer camp last year. Because she has been increasingly focused on her own environmental responsibility and on inspiring our family to live more lightly on the earth, I wanted to make something this year to support her in her environmentalist efforts. A reusable lunch bag is obviously better than a disposable one, but what is less obvious is that using reusable containers in the lunch bag takes up more room than disposable food packaging. Disposable food packets tend to be more closely fitted to the item they contain than we can achieve at home putting food into reusable containers: we end up with more air space throughout the lunch. So I made the bag nice and roomy to fit an eco-friendly lunch!


Craft Info:

Made for: DD
Occasion: Save the world
Date made: June 15, 2008

Fabrics: Front and back/flap: Scraps of woven cotton novelty fabrics (from our stash and from cascadelemonade's etsy); lightweight woven cotton for backing. Sides and lining: lightweight black denim.
Other materials: Strap: green webbing reconned from package wrapping. Loops for strap and button: turquoise grosgrain ribbon. Button: vintage turquoise button from Sommersbreezeantique's etsy. Thread: green, pink and turquoise. Elastic to cinch in the sides.
Dimensions: Front panel: 10" x 10". Back/flap panel: 10" x 16". Sides: 5" x 10". Bottom: 10" x 5". Strap: approx 1 yard.
Construction notes: The bag is fully lined with the black denim (five pieces in the same dimensions as the outside pieces). Dimensions are cut dimensions, before sewing; 1/4" seams throughout. The top stitching on the denim is turquoise and green. There is turquoise, green, and pink top stitching on the pieced panels. There is a casing for the elastic at the top of each side panel made by stitching the outside and lining pieces together.