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my new laptop bag…and all the details

laptop bag

During the past week, this bag has carried my laptop through the airport, been my purse to a wedding, and toted stuff to the beach. That’s a lot of jobs for one bag. I’m happy to say it performed all of its required duties wonderfully. And it looked pretty darn cute, too. Here’s how I planned the design:

Size
Most importantly, this bag needed to be large enough to fit my laptop, but small enough to meet airline carry-on luggage guidelines. I checked the FAA and NWA website and both set my limit at 45 linear inches. Mine turned out to be 13.5 x 16.5 x 4 inches, or 34 linear inches. Part of me wished I had made it a little bigger, but there’s less room for your bag under an aisle seat, so in the end, this size worked great.

laptop bag

Inside
I wanted a separate sections for my laptop and my other things. I created two pockets and added a tie to the laptop side. When I used this as a purse, the laptop side was filled with fun things for distracting my daughter, like coloring books, story books, stickers, etc. At the beach, it held my book and knitting project.

laptop bag

Outside
A zipper closure was essential. I didn’t want anything to fall out during airport screening and I didn’t want any sand getting inside. Durability was important, also. The outside is an upholstery fabric and the inside is a cotton canvas.

How-to
This bag is basically an oversized zipper pouch with handles and two inside large pockets. It seems silly to write up a tutorial when there are so many great ones already out there. For this project, I referenced the following:

Adding the handles was easy. I just sandwiched them between the outside fabric and zipper when I was sewing it all together. I reinforced the handles with a few rows of extra stitching.

stash: Fabric came from this remnant sale. Zipper was thrifted.

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my creative space

laptop bag purse

Today my creative space is filled with finishing. I just finished this laptop bag/purse for myself. Hopefully, we’ll get a little sun today so I can get some more pics. I’m also finishing up another tote for an etsy order. Plus, I’ve got to whip up two gift bags for these projects and I’m going to try and fit in a little mending in the evening.

What’s in your creative space today?

Visit more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.

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blue and yellow custom sweater bag

It’s been awhile since I’ve made a sweater bag and I had forgotten how much fun it is to work with felted wool. I especially love how you can whip it into shape with a hot iron and a little steam.

thrifted felted custom sweater bag

My friend Cathy LOVES tote bags. She frequently brings a thrifted sweater to knitting group and asks me to make the largest bag possible. This sweater felted up so well that I was worried it wouldn’t be big enough for her. I added denim at the bottom to give her some more room.

thrifted felted custom sweater bag

Cathy is on the Board of Directors for our local Sewing for Babies. She is constantly knitting and sewing the cutest baby items. That’s why she likes having lots of big, roomy totes. She also asked me to make a box bag for some of her smaller projects. Don’t you just love this fabric?

measuring tape fabric box bag

project notes: Thrifted sweater was 100% lambswool from the Gap. Their lambswool sweaters always felt nicely. Lining and box bag fabric provided by Cathy. Denim from a pair of thrifted jeans in my stash. Garage sale interfacing and zipper for the box bag.

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mixing bread bags and wool with crochet

A long time ago I started to crochet a tote out of plastic grocery bags. I thought it would be a good way to keep the bags out of the landfill. It wasn’t fun. The plastic was sticky and it hurt my wrists. Then my recycle guy started accepting the bags for curbside pick up. That was the end of the guilt and the project.

The past few weeks, I’ve been taking a hard look at what we put in the trash. Was there anything else I could possibly recycle? Tea bag envelopes? Receipts? Bread bags?

I did some investigating and my recycling guy only accepts newspaper, dry cleaning and grocery bags. If I can’t put them at the curb, what else can I do with them? I know others have crocheted them just like grocery bags, but when I tried, they kept breaking. Plus, I’d need to eat a lot of bread to make anything substantial. Then I got an idea. What if I cut really thin strips and held them along with something else?

crochet bread bag and wool

I am totally loving this! I’m using recycled sweater yarn that has a bunch of knots. The plastic hides the yarn imperfections and the yarn keeps the plastic from breaking. If the plastic does break, the yarn holds the “fabric” together.

This is so much easier on my wrists! And check out the pretty colors! Not bad for some plain old gray recycled yarn.

crochet bread bag and wool

So far I’ve used bread and tortilla bags. I’ve also got a salad bag to throw into the mix. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

recycle and reuse: I love thinking of new things to knit and crochet. The yarn is from my first attempt at recycling sweater wool. This is a good project for both frugal and green crafters!

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crochet bag progress

crochet tote bag

The tote is growing and the yarn balls are getting smaller. I spent a lot of evenings this past week hanging out with my parents, who were visiting from Baltimore, and crocheting round after round on my bag. It has become quite addicting.

Also pictured is a vintage crochet book I picked up at a garage sale last week for 25 cents. It’s a stitch dictionary packed with over 100 stitch combinations. Fun!

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project to do: crochet jar jacket

crochet jar jacket

This yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year waiting for the right project. I have six balls total and got them all for $5 at a garage sale. When they passed the burn test for wool, I was even more excited! I was thinking of making a blanket because they are so close to the color of our walls.

Since then, I have found Lucy over at Attic 24. Every morning I look for her latest post. The colors of her projects and photos are like a little dose of sunshine, which has been nice these past few cloudy days! Now, I’m planning to make some crochet jar jackets. The flowers are starting to bloom and I could use a fast and easy project to brighten my day. After a few of those, I’m planning to make this bag. I like the idea of having a place for my current projects to live that also matches my living room. After all, that’s where I do most of my knitting and crocheting!

I’m almost ready to start working on my to-do projects. I’ve finished the wedding, annivarsary and birthday gifts and should be able to post them on the blog next week. All I’ve got left are a few things for Father’s Day. Next week will be filled with finished photos!

stash: I’m so glad I didn’t walk away from this yarn when I found it. The colors are just perfect. I knew I’d find a project for it eventually.

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giveaway winner!

First off, I am overwhelmed by all of your sweet comments on my tote bag. It makes me happy to see everyone getting inspired to reuse, recycle and repurpose! I’m slowly working my way through all the comments and visiting all of your websites. Y’all are so crafty!

So, on to the winner: Karen Squared! Congrats, Karen!

tablecloth tote bag

I finished up the other tote bags in this series and they are listed in my etsy shop. I love them so much! I keep thinking I should save one for myself. If you want one, better buy it soon before I change my mind!

I’m thinking that the coffee sleeve of the month giveaway might become a tote bag of the month giveaway. How does everyone feel about that?

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sew, mama, sew may giveaway day

may giveaway day
I’m participating in Sew, Mama, Sew’s May Giveaway Day. Remember that beautiful tablecloth I was going to make into tote bags? Here’s the first one!

tablecloth tote bag

The top has a slight curve because the tablecloth is round. I love how the trim fabric contrasts with the floral print. The lace tape really pulls it together!

tablecloth tote bag

I’ll be making three more for my etsy shop, but I’m giving this one away! I’ll even ship internationally.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Yep! That’s it! You have until midnight, May 31st to enter. I will choose a winner with a random number generator. After you leave a comment, check out Sew, Mama, Sew for more fabulous giveaways!

recycle: original tablecloth purchased from garage sale here

Like this tote? Subscribe to my RSS feed or follow me on twitter for more recycled crafty goodness!

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coordinating cashmere box bag

box bag

I finished a box bag to go with the cashmere sweater tote. It’s the first time I’ve used part of a sweater for one of these. The handle is sewn out of the turtle neck portion of the sweater. I delivered both to their new owner last night and she loves them.

I’ve got a lot of project deadlines this weekend so I’m trying to get a little mending out of the way today. Mostly fixing ripped seams and a few holes. It’s the calm before the sewing storm!

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custom cashmere sweater bag

Remember the little peek I gave you of the custom cashmere bag? It’s finished!

drawstring sweater bag

It’s based off of Simplicity 3531. My friend gave me the pattern to let me know what she wanted. Problem with working with sweaters, though, is that the sweater dictates the pattern, not the other way around. I was worried that it might not turn out exactly how she wanted.

cashmere sweater tote

I think it looks better than ones pictured on the envelope. I was most concerned about the drawstring, but the cashmere ruffles up nicely.

sweater purse

I like it so much, I’m thinking about making a few more.

refashion: custom bag for a friend, sweater was thrifted, she provided the coordinating fabric