my first messenger bag

I made this for a friend at work.  Since I completely forgot to get her a Christmas present (yes, I believe she still does want me as a friend), I wanted to make her something for her birthday that she would really appreciate.  After nixing the idea of a scarf because it would take me way too long and would probably not be up to gifting standards since it would only be my second scarf ever (I still haven't learned to purl), I decided on a bag--bags I can handle.

I thought about going with the traditional tote, but again, I wanted it to be special and something that she would really enjoy.  She's not what I would characterize as a girly-girl, so I knew the design had to be sort of gender-neutral with a hint of femininity.  While surfing blogs one night, I came across this messenger bag and knew that I had found what I was looking for.

I scoured the fabric store for a plain fabric, but I wasn't limiting myself to a solid.  I was almost resolved to solid black since nothing else caught my eye until I found this solid green.  I guess you could call it hunter green.  Then I found the lining and I knew it was all perfect.  Luckily the recipient agrees.

I found a few good tutorials online--this one in particular--but nothing I found was exactly what I wanted, so I just created it in my head with inspiration from the tutorials I found.

I decided to go with a clip like the one in my inspiration photo because I thought it added a neat touch.  But this one from JoAnn's was made from cheap plastic (for $4 I expected it to be pretty great . . . I'm a thrift shopper) and didn't open or close all that well.  So next time I would get a more heavy-duty closure.  I also forgot to attach it to the top flap, so I had to rip and resew at the end.

I tried fleece in the strap to make it more robust.  I liked the feel, shape, and sturdiness of it so much that I wish I had insulated every part of the bag with fleece.  Oh well, there's always next time and, with this project, I am certain there will be a next time.

And I had to include this photo because it explains why photo shoots take me so long . . .