Hi everyone!
I finished my own beach bag this week! Wait, you mean to say that your bag wasn’t finished yet? Nope dear reader, I hadn’t lined my bag yet and the handles were attached with pins! But don’t tell anyone ;)
I had already picked out my lining and my bag handles. The lining was something I picked up at a LYS a while ago, and the bag handles are of course made by my friend Nicollie, who does amazing things with leather and stamps :) I also added some tassels to my drawstring rope, to give it a more finished look.
And here’s the end result!
I really love how all the elements look together; the fabric of the crochet part, the rope and tassels, the handles, the lining – it’s perfect :)
Here’s a closer look at the leather handles. I had Nicollie stamp them with these words; the first person who can tell me what lyrics there words belong to, can grab any pattern from my shop for free! :)
I lined my bag by placing it on my folded lining fabric and cutting around it with an inch of seam allowance. I then sewed the two pieces of fabric together leaving the top open. I inserted the fabric into the bag, and folded the top down by about half an inch, and pinned it to the bag. I added the handles by inserting them between the folded top and the bag, and pinned them in place. Then I sewed along the top using a jeans needle on my sewing machine, to make sure I could sew through the leather from the handles. Once I sewed the lining to the bag, I topstitched along the top one more time, to give extra security and for a pretty finish.
You can get some leather bag handles with your own words stamped on them in Nicollie’s Etsy shop here; she also makes those cute leather tags I have in my bag :) As a blog reader you can get 10% off your order by using coupon code ‘WINKIE’!
If you’ve finished your bag, upload it to the Ravelry group here to enter for the prize! :) (if you don’t want to use Ravelry, you can also email me your photo: acreativebeing [at] gmail [dot] com)
You have until July 12th to upload your photos; after that I will pick a winner! Good luck everyone :)
xo,
wink
July 8, 2014 at 1:15 pm
It’s from The First class; Beach baby! Love it :)
July 8, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Yay! I love how it turned out with the leather handles!
So sweet of you to mention them in your blog post, thanks!!!
July 8, 2014 at 3:10 pm
“Beach Baby” by First Class in 1974
Love how your beach bag turned out! Have to get started on mine real quick now…
July 8, 2014 at 8:13 pm
What size handles did you order from etsy shop! 24″ or 32″
July 9, 2014 at 12:59 pm
Mine were 32″ :)
xo,
wink
July 9, 2014 at 12:18 pm
The weather is so ugly I don’t dare think of the beach … :-)
July 12, 2014 at 1:17 am
That is one of the songs everyone remembers the words to but not who sang it. It was called BEACH BABY and was sugn by the band FIRST CLASS.
July 12, 2014 at 3:52 am
What a beautiful bag!! I am no where close to a beach, but I could see this used as a travel bag to carry all the loose ends you need when you get on the plane. I tend to have to really fight when I’m sewing on any crocheted item. Do you have any tips you would share? Thank you.
July 12, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Hi Toqua! You really have to know your sewing machine to be able to sew a lining into a crochet piece successfully. For my sewing machine, the trick is to set the tension quite loose (since you’re sewing through a lot of layers) and to make sure the ‘teeth’ don’t grab the piece too much. I hope that helps! :)
xo,
wink
July 12, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Thank you so much! I will try to loosen the tension next time and see if that helps. I truly appreciate it.
Thanks again.
July 12, 2014 at 1:50 pm
where do i find this pattern
July 12, 2014 at 8:24 pm
The First Class, “Beach Baby” (1974) :) Btw, I LOVE your beach bag!! So cute!!
July 15, 2014 at 11:31 am
Very beautiful, and so summery! Love the finish as well, it looks so neat. :)