IKEA Fabric Bag

Over Christmas (which was late January for us), my sister-in-law, Claire, and I started discussing purses and bags and got on topic about how Claire was in need of a new one.  I was already perusing the etsy.com site, and ran across a purse made from an awesome IKEA fabric.  The purse on etsy.com was $42, but I knew I could make it a lot cheaper.

 

And, lo and behold, not five days after we discussed the purse, I would be driving through the Twin Cities, home of Minnesota's IKEA store.  Julia, Raven, and I dined at the IKEA cafeteria and then went on a hunt for the fabric.  I was delighted to find it and bought four yards... because I could.  :)  Ha!

The weekend before last, our Pella Area Quilt Guild held a retreat, and this was where I planned to make the purse.  I have experience in making bags and whatnot, but this time I chose to use a pattern, because I have zero confidence with zippers.  After a short time, I learned that I should have trusted my instincts and gone rogue.  But, I kept on with the pattern, and after a multitude of cursing, bang, and at one point, attacking a piece of fabric with scissors (no, literally attacking... it wasn't one of my finer moments), the purse was done.  It took a bit, but I was back to my jovial self a few hours later and was able to laugh about the experience for the rest of the weekend.

 

And, well... I think it turned out really great... so it was worth the effort that went into it.  And next time?  Well, next time I'm going to trust what I already know how to do.

erin