Appliqued Crossover Bag for Kids

 Over the weekend I took on another project from a book I've mentioned before.  It's called, We Love to Sew by Annabel Wrigley.  All the projects in the book are meant for 'kids' to do.  Well, I thought they would be perfect for me!

For these bags I was able to learn how to applique using felt.  Applique is one of those things I've always wanted to try, but just never had.  I'm now happy to say that I did it and I LOVED IT!!  Now I want to applique everything!   While researching some more information on how to applique, I found a great website, Homemade Gifts Made Easy.  On this website she has some cute ideas and free patterns.  The letter and the butterfly came from her site.  I feel bad, but I did not write down where I found the owl.  On Homemade Gifts Made Easy she also had a great tutorial on the applique process, which I used for this project. 

 

I actually combined two projects in Annabel's book to make one bag.  She had a project for a crossover bag, but it did not have a zipper.  She also had a project in the book for zip pouches.  I decided to combine the two.  These bags were for my 2 girls, and believe me, they need a zipper to keep all their goodies from falling out.

 Here is the close-up of the butterfly applique.  I decided to add some buttons and then some antennae using a zigzag stitch.

 My girls picked the other two fabric for themselves, but when I saw this one I just had to get it!  I could not believe neither of my girls thought it was cute enough for their bag.  I just love it!

 Here is a close-up of the owl.  Isn't he adorable?!  When we purchased our felt sheets I noticed that some had designs already printed on them.  The pink had silver hearts, which I really did not want for the owl, but it did add a little something to his ear.  For his wings, I thought the black would look weird, but it really added a little something and I love it!

 

My last bag was for my princess and I added her initial to the crown.  I like how it turned out.

This bag gave me a little trouble, as the zipper I bought was actually 7" instead of 9".  It took me a little while to figure out why this bag was not working quite like the others!  

 For all the applique pieces I used a zigzag stitch to secure the piece.  I first tried a black stitch as an outline, but I did not like it. 

 Here we are at the park with out new bags!

This picture gave me an idea...iPad Bags!  Do you think in 5-10 years children will no longer have book bags?  I've been thinking about this lately.  My children are not in public school, so I really do not know how many schools are requiring tablets or lap tops for the classroom, if any. 

Overall I had fun with this project, but I did struggle with how to attach the straps with the zipper right there.  I'm sure there is an easy fix.  I just need to do some research and try again.  Once I perfect it, I'll add a tutorial.  I really think this would be a great bag to have in my 'future' etsy shop, if there ever is one.  :)

Blessings to you and thanks for stopping by!  If you have time to stick around, please check out some of my most popular post on the sidebar, or some of my recent post in the archives.  I have lots of beginner sewing projects with tutorials.  

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Have a great day!! :)
~Gina

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