bags

a bag for Sam

We have been so blessed with the teachers that my daughters have had at their primary school.  Stella’s prep teacher has been especially wonderful.  She has the perfect mix of warmth and control that makes her classroom a positive learning environment and a pleasure to be in (I helped out with reading occasionally during the year so was able to see her in action).  What does this have to do with sewing?  If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that our thank-you gift to the teacher each year is generally a thornberry bag.

thank you bag for teacher Sam

I was able to use Nicole‘s recent zippers for bags class to make a start on this bag, and finished it off at home shortly after. Stella hasn’t given it to teacher Sam yet – we’ll wait until the last week of term for that. But I couldn’t resist showing it off now!

thank you bag for teacher Sam

Here’s zipper #1 – the closure across the top of the bag. The bag pattern is the Large Tote and Satchel, which is just perfect for customisation. I decided to use webbing for the strap, and used a fairly heavy weight denim for the exterior in combination with decorator weight Denyse Schmidt fabric.

thank you bag for teacher Sam

There are zippers #2 and #3, securing fully functional pockets on the outside of the bag. Both are lined in quilters cotton. And on the inside (and oh so difficult to photograph)?

thank you bag for teacher Sam

Zipper #4 is across the top of a divider pocket. There is also a patch pocket on the inside just the right size to slip in a mobile phone. There is a key leash in there too but you can’t see it in the photo. The lining fabrics are quilting cottons, other than the decorator weight fabric used for the divider pocket.

thank you bag for teacher Sam

This bag was a delight to make, with Nicole’s instructions helping to give a very professional result as always. I also added purse feet to make it a little more sturdy, and included an internal structured base. Luckily for me I still have some of the exterior fabrics left and am considering making myself a similar bag.I still have some more zipper techniques to practice – maybe I need to make more than one!  Now I need to consider what to make for Clare’s teacher – she has a male teacher AGAIN this year!  Maybe some of my husband’s home brew would be a successful home made gift for him instead of a bag…