Saturday, August 31, 2013

My Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

I set out to make it for the prizes.

You have probably noticed the Zakka Along 2.0 which is sewing through Ayumi Takahashi's book Patchwork Please! Every week in the sew along there is a prize awarded randomly to one of those who link up a finished project. Well, I really want the prize this week - it is a whole lot of linen and a gift certificate to Pink Chalk Fabrics. I love linen.

So last night, having noted that there are not a hundred entries yet so my chances to win were good, I decided that it was worth the time to make the bag to enter. I was not, then, that excited about the bag, and some of the reviews on the internet did not encourage me either. But I got started and finished it this afternoon.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

My view now is that this bag is great - seriously useful, and not too floppy or weird at all, and I am so glad I made it.

First, if you fold it nicely, it will carry as a lovely tidy triangle when it is empty. You can see that I used an Echino linen cheater print and Essex linen in a neutral and also in bright green. I used the neutral linen for the lining and top cover as well as the pocket and handles as I was trying to be at least partly in the zakka spirit of things.

I did not have webbing for the handles so I just made some by folding a piece of linen like a binding. The view above shows the pocket.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

To get it to fold nicely, just set it down and let the sides fall in and then pick up the handles. There is no fussing around to get it to look nice.

I did make a mistake making it, but I don't think it changes much. The pattern calls for larger panels on the sides than the front, I believe because the side panels are pleated to allow for expansion. I reversed the panel sizes but it works fine. I needed to remeasure and cut new bottoms, but otherwise the pattern went together the same way.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

Here is the side without the pocket. Oh, I did not add any interfacing and I used just the Essex linen on the inside, not a plastic coated fabric. I did make the lining 1.5" shorter, as recommended by Krista at Spotted Stone in her post here.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

Here it it empty on the ground. It can open to basically a circle shape. The book says it is the size of a shopping cart and I expect it would fill very nicely into some of those smaller size carts (there are some at my store on the coast but not here). There is a drawstring cover at the top of the bag to keep your groceries or other stuff clean and dry and from falling out.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

If you fill it about 1/3 full of folded laundry, it expands to a nice shape to hold it.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

When you fill it basically full, the ends unfold to fit everything in nicely.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

And you can overfill it, that top covering keeps things from falling out. Here it is with two large quilts in it. This bag is useful.

Piece-of-Cake Shopping Bag

And when it is full it sits nicely on the table. I see so many possibilities for this bag - for shopping, for going to the beach, for taking fabric to a sewing day, for holding laundry when you are travelling or just in your room, for going to the gym, and whatever else. One thought is that it is so big that if I filled it with too many heavy groceries I might find it hard to carry, so I will be careful about that.


In the end, I am very happy with this bag and I will use it loads. And I still want to win the prize, wish me luck. You can go here to see the other bags linked up too.

Best,

Leanne

22 comments:

Laurel said...

LOL - I love the fact that you said you made it for the prize. I (ahem) forgot to put that in my post about my bag. But it's the truth, who am I kidding?

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Love your honesty Leanne - best of luck! You've got a fabulous bag in any case.

Poppyprint said...

I love that you used the cheater panel, and I bet since you were brutally honest and put it out to the universe that you are in it for the linen prize, you will win now. Good luck!!

MariQuilts said...

Looks great....good luck...I would think you deserve to win after coming up with so many intersting ways to use the bag.

Susan said...

Your bag is great- I love how you used the ;cheater' fabric! My worry was giving myself fa back injury lifting it when it's full of groceries too! I hope you are a lucky winner!

Melziebelle said...

I really like it, the top is clever!
xoxo melzie

Debbie said...

haha. Great job whipping this bag right up - looks like you will be using it alot. Love the linens you used! And good luck of course! ;-)

OPQuilt said...

Good luck. I hope you win the prize. Nice write-up about the bag. I saw that on another blog, and I'll take your word that it is not so so big to be unwieldy. I'm short, so have be careful about making bags that are too big and hold too much, but you sold me when you said it will hold two quilts. Who doesn't need a bag like that?

Bravo!

Teje Karjalainen said...

Hi! Your new bag is beautiful! Wonderful colours and looks also practical! Good Luck! x Teje

Anonymous said...

Wishing you the best of luck Leanne! I love the bag. I have noted other reviews on the internet also. I think it is a fantastic bag as I have teenage daughters who pack up big time when they go to stay over night with friends. I am adding it to my to do list. Marie (mlismore@optusnet.com.au)

Katy Cameron said...

Looks like a very handy bag! Good luck :o)

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I hope you win - fingers and paws are firmly crossed!

Catherine said...

Love the fabrics that you have used, what a great make

Michelle@factotum-of-arts.com said...

Love it - it makes me consider going and making myself one :-)

jeifner said...

I like a large bag for so many things. Nice review of it and it turned out so well!

Isisjem said...

I hope you win the prize. Love your bag. Choice of fabrics would make any grocery shop less of a chore.

Katherine said...

Great version, Leanne! It's amazing how much this bag will hold, isn't it?

Lisa in Port Hope said...

I love the cheater print. Thanks for the hint about the heavier fabric -- I'd like to try it with quilted panels. Good luck with the prize!

pennydog said...

I must say I was never that into the bag as it always looked a bit floppy in photos so I'm glad I read this, yours looks great and so useful too

Cindy said...

It looks just smashing!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

this looks like a very useful bag

Thriftyideastoday said...

I love this bag...the draw string is brillant!