i’ve been working on developing a zippered pouch class to offer this spring, and in the process have been sewing lots of cute little bags! this one isn’t going to make the cut for a course – it’s too challenging for a beginning sewer. but look how cute it is!

this is one of my most favorite fabrics. it’s trefle by kokka, from 2010 i think. when the bee started teething, i made quilted covers for the top rails of her crib from this fabric, and now it will always remind me of my little crib-nibbler!

the bag has a cute little handle for carrying. i may have meant for it to go on the other end, but oops. things got confusing. it still works anyway.

with a turquoise lining! it’s meant for carrying the bee’s markers and whatnot on our outings.

so full disclosure: this thing took me three tries to get right. i didn’t really follow a pattern or tutorial, but i had “read” through a few in the days before starting. i say “read” because really i just looked at the pictures and actual reading probably would have helped. you can see that my zipper is installed totally lopsided in this last version. while i’m normally a bit of a perfectionist, if i had to rip out one more seam i would’ve thrown something.

here are a few of the tutorials that i looked at, but the size of my bag was specific to fit these markers and stuff. i really wanted a fully lined bag, with no exposed seams, which was the main reason i had to remake it so many times. why can i never remember that lining things means you should think it all the way through before just jumping in? next time (if there is a next time) i may go with just serging the gussets!

• boxy bag tutorial from kelby sews
• zippered travel pouch for dad by melissa from the polka dot chair on we all sew
• easy zipper box bag tutorial from harts fabric

while i was working on (the last version of) this bag, the bee and i were intermittently coloring this ginormous coloring page from mr. printables, and we had the brilliant idea of organizing all of the pens, crayons, pencils and markers by color, not medium. hands down the most absolutely gorgeous decision we made all week!

i hope everyone had a fabulous holiday, if you’re into that sort of thing! happy spring everyone!