We're Finishing Up The Stella Weekender Bag!

The final post for the Stella Weekender Bag is up on the Sew News blog and you can find it HERE.

What a fun journey it has been! My first bag was made from barkcloth. Love how it turned out. It will be going on to it's new home with my niece tomorrow.

The bag I did for the sew along. The fabric is so bright and fun. I always like to try something a little different. The pattern calls for the zipper to be a dress weight zipper. Look closely and you'll see that I used a heavy weight plastic zipper in my front pocket. Worked out great. And thanks to Bunny of La Sewista, I added the extra stitching reinforcement to my handles. Barely noticeable, but a nice touch regardless.   

This week's post is all about finishing up the bag. We insert the center zipper. I also used a heavy weight zipper here.

We sew up the lining, and I show you how to sew the lining into the bag so that it doesn't sag. I also customized my interior pockets. 

I've enjoyed sharing Bunny's progress on the weekender that she is making as a diaper bag. Here's her finished bag.

The stitching detail on her handles is a little more prominent. What a wonderful gift this will be!

A few notes from Bunny;

1. If you look closely at the front of her bag, you'll see that she piped around the cargo pocket. She does not recommend doing this.

2. Keep in mind that it is a softer bag, so not overly structured. The purpose of the bag is to be able to stuff a lot into it, so the softness of the bag works well.

3. And finally, she said that she will be making the bag again. I think that's a great endorsement!

Once again, if you take a close look at the front of her bag, you'll see a wonderful tag that says, Handcrafted In America. This was purchased from the Emmaline Bags website. They have lots of hardware and it's a great resource. You can find all the hardware and the tags HERE.

I also shared that there is a great group on Facebook called Swoon Patterns Group. Here's a LINK. You will have to ask to join the group, but they are a friendly bunch, so I know you'll be welcomed with open arms :)

Bunny has not posted her final weekender bag, but she did make the most wonderful bags for her grandson's using an Emmaline pattern. You can check out her post HERE. Just a reminder...Christmas is coming!!!!!

Be sure to pop over to the Swoon Patterns website and check out all of the wonderful bag patterns. Once you make one, there will be another!

Hope you've enjoyed the sew along!
Just a reminder, if you are just beginning, or think that you would like to do the bag at a later date, the posts remain on the Sew News blog, so you can go back at anytime.

I'm off for my yearly mammogram. Wish me luck!