Monday, January 3, 2011

Wizard of Oz Mabel Bag

Here's the one big project I worked on for Christmas, and have been anxiously waiting to share, especially for Amy's Sew & Tell now that it's back from "Christmas break." I've also been kind of slacking since I actually gave this away on Christmas, and haven't gotten around to sharing it with you all before now.

This pattern is the Mabel bag from Jenna Lou Designs. I love this pattern! It's a great size for a messenger bag, and could easily be used as a laptop bag with some padding or a padded laptop sleeve. It uses Peltex interfacing, so it's nice & sturdy.


I did a disappearing nine patch for the main outer fabric made from 12 different Wizard of Oz fabrics I found at a local quilt shop.


My favorite of the prints is this "Surrender Dorothy." Also, it's difficult to see, but I did the "quilting" (not exactly, since there's no batting) with metallic red stitching.


The pattern calls for a zipper pocket on the inside, but because I only had just enough fabric left and hadn't ever tackled it before, I decided to play it safe with a simple slip pocket. I did add a strap with a clip for keys, or this little pouch.


The pouch is made from the Keyka Lou keychain clutch pattern, but I increased the pattern size 115%. It's now big enough to hold an ipod touch (or iphone). The original pattern size is nice & small, but wouldn't hold anything but a small phone or some change.


The strap is adjustable with metal hardware, and is made from alternating size pieces of the yellow bring road & ruby red slipper fabrics.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with how this turned out. It was relatively simple to make, and if I hadn't decided to do the patchwork, it could have easily been made in a weekend instead of over about a month's time. One thing that was difficult though was the Peltex lining made it a bit clunky to maneuver, especially around the curve in the top. Also, because it's so thick, I had to hand-sew the strap reinforcement & wasn't able to topstitch around the opening, which I usually prefer. It doesn't look terrible without the top stitching, but it's a finishing touch I always like to add.

Until next time...



Sumo Sweet Stuff Pink Hippo Party

17 comments:

  1. That's awesome! I love the shiny red quilting thread. :)

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  2. That is so cute! You know I love the fabric :)

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  3. Oh my gosh! That's a zillion times better than I could have ever imagined! It looks really awesome with the patchwork. Great job, I know that must have taken awhile to make but it was worth it! I hope your sister loves it! :-)

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  4. So So Awesome! I really love it!

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  5. Great job!! Love the little pouch that clips on.

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  6. Cute little coin purse on the inside! I'm going to make a few of those. Also, that yellow brick road fabric is adorable!

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  7. Ok, that is adorable. I love the fabrics, and I love the disappearing 9 patch, too. I made a quilt for my daughter with it and I love it. Great job!

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  8. Great bag! Like how you used those Wizard of Oz fabrics.

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  9. Cute! I love the insert made with the yellow brick road!

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  10. I love your bag. It turned out great.

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  11. This is awesome! I love the fabric and the Wizard of Oz theme! Hope you will share with my Pink Hippo Party @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2011/01/pink-hippo-party-11.html

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  12. The bag is cool by itself, but then with the little yellow-brick-road pouch -- super cute!!! I surfed in from sew and tell. Happy Sewing!!!

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  13. I love this bag. You can't go wrong with the Wizard of Oz.

    (I'm a new follower over from the Pink Hippo Party)

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  14. This is awesome! I love this bag.. what's not to love about the Wizard of Oz right? Thanks for sharing with the Pink Hippo Party!

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  15. Oh I love this sooo much! I featured it on my favorites! Hope you grab your featured button @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2011/01/pink-hippo-party-12.html

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Thank you for your comments, I appreciate each & every one I get. I do try to respond to most (if not all) comments, but that's hard to do if you don't have an e-mail in your profile! :)