Recently, I blogged about making a test bag. It was a big bag made from recycled fabrics and it was a test run for this bag: My Australian Big Bag. I’m so happy with the result (see below).
Australia Theme
When I was in Australia, years ago, I got a shopping bag with the Australian flag on it. That bag was losing its lining and could no longer be used for its original purpose. So, a great excuse to reuse!
Luckily, I also found a fun piece of fabric to combine it with – The print showing a girl with all kinds of Australian landmarks. It all comes together to keep it on-topic.
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- The Australian themed fabric that I’ve reused
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- Putting pattern to fabric
Quick Sketch
Originally, I had two design ideas for this bag. One was a messenger bag (known here as the mailman bag) and the other one was this one. I chose to go with this design, because of the size. It’s nice and big. I created a few pockets in its lining this time, so I could actually find my stuff back really quickly. This design gave room to reuse the most elements from the original shopping bag.
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- Starting the bottom and lining
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- It’s beginning to look like the sketch
The Design Explained
The bag has two portions of the flag on the front and back. The picture of the girl is on either sides of the bag. On one side, there’s the word “Australia”. On the other, it’s just a red band, which is also stitched on top of the bag. The latter wasn’t planned, but got added when I noticed it could fit in well next to the zipper. Giving it a little bit of an extra touch.
Shoulder Straps
I’m still a newbie at sewing, so despite all the efforts to get it absolutely perfect, there are a few mistakes. I won’t mention them, so hopefully you don’t notice it on the picture below. But, if I could fault anything about my initial design, it would be that it needs shoulder straps as well. It just makes it easier to carry. Oh well… I know it’s not the last bag I’ll make. LOL.
The finished Australia bag
