My name is Sue Pfau and my pattern company is called Sweet Jane’s. I am a pattern designer. Usually I say I am a quilt pattern designer, but I have recently branched out into bags! I have been bitten by “the bag bug”. I love piecing as well, so I like to combine the two to make pieced, patchwork bags. This particular bag works great with Kim Schaefer’s Hand dyes fabrics. The rich colors and the similar tones make this fabric perfect for this bag!
If you have never tried to make a bag, you should make the leap! I started making bags about 1 year ago and I really enjoy it. I try to keep my bags simple. I find myself intimidated by bags that have too many pockets and zippers, or a bag I need to buy special hardware for. My bags are quick & easy to make, and don’t require any tricky handles or snaps! I love making bags because they take less fabric than quilts, work up quicker, and make great gifts. This bag is fully lined and has one large pocket inside. No need to put in a zipper if that intimidates you! One great thing about bags is you really can customize the inside if you have experience with zippers and pockets, so keep that in mind. If you have a large stash, you can make a bunch of bags without even going to the fabric store….you have to love that! I made the bag above with scraps.
Usually I quilt my bags, but I used a medium weight interfacing to line both the outer bag and lining for this one. It looks great, and it is a lot easier than quilting the bag. I wish I could make another bag in the reds, purples and orange/rust in this line, I just don’t have quite enough material in my house.
These strips will have to be made into a smaller project!
I used my fabric on this extra long table runner below. You can see all of the beautiful color combinations that are possible with this line of fabric, and how great they would look made into my bag! You can make a table runner like this one using 2” strips. I just cut the strip sets into varying widths and sewed them back together.
If you are interested in this bag pattern, or are curious about my other patterns using precuts and fat quarters, head over to my Etsy shop for a look! I hope you are feeling inspired!