Quilted ‘Sew Retro’ bag

When I heard that Sheila from Sewchet was requesting a pattern tester to try out her new ‘Sew Retro’ bag pattern, I jumped at the chance.

I love a project thrust upon me. Sometimes turning my attention to something completely unplanned really sparks my interest.
I’ve been following the Sewchet blog from around mid last year. Sheila makes some darling things. A great mix of crochet and sewing for the home; right up my street.

These are Sheila’s bags.

Aren’t they lovely?

Very generously, she also sent me all the materials. I think she might have had me in mind when she sent me this particular print!

She asked me to test the smaller of the bags and emailed me across the pattern.

After cutting out the pieces using the VERY clear dimensions, I got to work free hand machine quilting the outer bag sections. I hadn’t done this before and it was great fun. I had a little practice first!

The bag came together exceedingly easily, following all the instructions. Can you see my invisible pocket?

We had some lovely correspondence during the make, just polishing up the odd instruction. It was so good to make more contact with a fellow blogger than our usual blog post comment.

And finally the completed bag. A success don’t you agree?

I’ll definitely be making more of these. Can you imagine a huge yellow striped one; perfect for a trip down to the beach? I can also see a lunch bag using insulated wadding and a wipe clean inner and perhaps a strip of velcro across the top. But I will do some more quilting, to make it a little more structured, more like Sheila’s.
There is something quite vintage about the style.
If you’d like to visit Sewchet’s shop, here, I’m sure she’ll be delighted. You find her bag pattern there, of course.

Thanks for the bag Sheila. It is already in great use. My daughter asked,’do you get to keep the bag?’ Ha! It’s not going anywhere.

Love, Lucie x