Brown linen bag

My Cinderella sketches are done, so I have some extra time now for crafts. I showed you the fabric I loved with the dotted lines..so now I've made it into a new bag. I wanted a soft one that will fold up small so I can take it with me on trips. I chose some brown linen to line it with, then realized it showed through the white fabric a bit. So I reversed the bag so that the white patterned fabric is now the lining. The picture up top shows the bag packed with stuff. The two front pockets are just right for my cell in one and ipod in the other. In particular please note that I am very spoiled and Bradley bought me this crafts magazine. I usually don't buy this one, but it had a good article about covering books and boxes with fabric and making portfolios, and also an interview with Amy Butler! I will show you some pictures in another post.

I really like how my new bag turned out and it was a great use-what-you-have project. The brown linen came from a shirt of Bradley's that was too large, so I cut out the main piece of fabric from the back panel. Then an extra piece to make the front pocket, with handsewn buttonholes and the buttons from the shirt. Then I used an extra piece for a sunglasses case. It's lined with the patterned white fabric, which you can hardly see unless you peek right inside. It's hard to see but I know it's there - so oh well. And I love love love the black vintage button I found in my collection to use as the fastener.
This is the bag without anything inside. It's very simple to make, just two squares sewn together, once in the lining fabric and again in the outer fabric, then sewn to each other. I added some skinny straps and a pocket on the outside. The bottom corners are squared to give it a bit of depth. The only tricky part was the buttonholes for the pocket - a handsewn buttonhole is just blanket stitching with thread (or twist if you have it!) but you have to take care to keep it even as you go around, and snugly spaced so there aren't any gaps and the fabric doesn't fray.
p.s. here are some samples of my completed Cinderella sketches...