Quiltologie Lesson 4 - The Chelsea Bag

The last time I was in Hancock Fabrics, I picked up this cute Quiltologie Lesson Kit to make a boxed bottom tote bag. It was a great deal at 40% off plus an additional discount from coupons I had on hand. I ended up paying about $6.00 for the whole shebang which isn't bad since it includes all the fabric (sans the interfacing) and makes a pretty good size bag.

 

I didn't time how long it took me to make the bag from start to finish but I'm guessing it was about 2 hours. I cut all my pieces out, ironed, and fused my fleece in about 45 minutes before an appointment and then I assembled the pieces when I got back home. Cutting is the bane of my existence since I don't really have a good place to do it. My "sewing room" is literally one corner of my bedroom so it can get awkward at times.

I love how the bag turned out. It was a little bigger than what I expected since I prefer smaller bags but it works. I tend to travel light and I think the only way I could fill this one up is with a beach towel and some sunscreen, lol.

On a side note, my husband likes to check out my projects when I'm done with them and he really liked this one. He said it brought back memories from his elementary school years in New Jersey and how excited he would get when "the lady from the museum" would come to their class toting a similar bag full of fun little projects and games. It's interesting how something so simple can bring back a fuzzy memory like that... but moving on!

I ended up top stitching the polka dot bow out of necessity... I accidentally stabbed a huge hole through one of the seams while I was turning the ribbon right side out. Oops! At least it still looks nice with a top stitch.

Here's the boxed bottom portion which is the focus of Lesson 4.  I learned about this technique a few months ago so I skipped the "lesson" part and just did them. I looked back through the instructions while writing out this post and it seems like they could be a little confusing if you've never ever squared out a bag before. There is a link included to a handy little video showing how to do the technique two different ways which is always great to know. But seriously, I love the boxed bottom look on bags... they just make things look so much more crisp.

Now the pattern calls for a velcro closure but I didn't have any on hand so I improvised using a Babyville snap button I had leftover from making cloth diapers. It just happened to match perfectly!

Overall, I liked this project a lot... it was very simple, easy to follow for the most part, and I just love the pink and turquoise color combination. There are several other lesson kits by Quiltologie and I think I may try one of the actual quilts. I've always wanted to make one but they just intimidate me for some reason! I will say that if it's as easy as this one, I know I can do it!

- Kim