One for the road

We got a cool theme for the September edition Let's sti(c)k together: "Zak eens lekker door".

I'm very sorry but that's hard to translate as it has a lot of word play in it. We could go in a lot of different directions with this: Bags, Pockets, Repairs, Party Outfit. It all fits the theme.

I went with the most obvious choice: a bag.

September is the start of the new school year in Belgium, so I actually thought a new gym bag or even a backpack would be my project. But then the man of the house saw how handy my son's adventure bag was and he ordered the "Manly" version. The man of the house is taking a nature guide course and he could use a bag to carry his course material when they go for one of theirs walks.

I dove right into my patterns and showed him a few options. Most of them were immediately set aside as being to much like a purse. But one pattern from a Belgian sewing book looked acceptable: a basic shoulder bag with a recessed zipper. He wanted little bellow pockets on the outside, so I got those from another pattern. I was instructed not to add anything else: no piping or other decorations :-(

The Manly theme continued in his fabric choice. He needed something sturdy and plain army green. THAT is not in my stash, so I just HAD to go to the fabric store ;-)

I did salvage a strap from an old laptop bag. Recycling: check!

The lining fabric and the 2 way zipper also came from the stash. Stash busting: check!
I had never done a recessed zipper before, so I also get credit for learning something new ;-)

outside: army green cotton twill

lining: Puzzled Milly (Soft Cactus)

patterns used : Zo Geknipt (belgian sewing book) + Blueberry Bag (Cherry Designs)

This bag won't win any beauty contests, but the man of the house doesn't care.
He's ready to go out on the road with his gear and start an expedition!

18 other bloggers joined the blogtour, so you can have a look at them too.
Most of them write in Dutch, but pictures give you a pretty good idea too!

Draadjes – Skwadraatlive – Girls in Uniform – Just Delphine – Larth – Woohoo by Davina – Sewing à la Carte – Yjonis blogt – ViTess – Two Owlettes – Naaisdrovje – … door Sara – Plus 2 is 5! – Spoetniksels – Seams Normal – OOYAmade – Khadetjes – Flaflinko