Tea Towel Tuesday- Messenger Bag

This weeks tea towel project has been my most ambitious yet. It involves 3 tea towels and some fusible interfacing.
Before starting, I read lots and lots of tutorials with instructions on how to make messenger bags and then I sort of fudged my own way through without measuring or having and exact plan. These are the tea towels that were used.

The main fabrics

The lining

Things that I learned:

• The strap for a bag like this should be longer than the length of a tea towel.
• I really should measure and be a bit more exact.
• The pre-sewn hems of tea towels were actually a hindrance in this project. They led to very thick hems in places and these were difficult for the sewing machine. After 1 bent needle, 1 broken needle and many jams I decided to hand sew the straps on.
• It is pure fluke that the design on the front is relatively symmetrical. Next time I should plan a bit better!
• The flap has got interfacing on both the outer fabric and the lining. The body of the bag only has interfacing on the lining. Next time I will interface everything as the interfaced fabric is better to sew and is much stronger.
• I suspect that I shouldn't over-fill this bag. It is probably too big for the strength of the fabric.

That said, have a look at the finished item... Not bad for a first attempt eh!?!

I think I'll regard this project as a valuable learning experience. That said, I fully intend to use this bag. I'm pretty sure that I will make more messenger bags in the future, hopefully with inside pockets and more details.

Christchurch bloggers watchout for this bag on the 5th! 

CHALLENGE# 40- Make a Shoulder Bag for me- COMPLETE