dianacouture.com

When I envision a project bag, I think of a thing of beauty that has a style all its own and says “I am carrying something beautiful and important.”    A drawstring bag just doesn’t say that.   The Serena bag is a bag that your projects and even your most expensive yarns will be proud to  hang out in and be seen with in public. 

A great knitting bag should be beautiful…but it must be functional as well.  The Serena bag has an opening in center front for the yarn to feed through.  You can knit without taking out your yarn.  The small Yarn Owl or the Skeini-T’s fit well in the bags to keep yarn from tangling.  But the bag is not too big that the yarn will get lost rolling around, so an additional Owl or T are optional, depending on your preference. 

The bag has a new stabilizer/interlining that keeps its shape but is very flexible.  I love this stuff, and it makes a beautiful bag.  When the bag is opened, it stands on its own and has a large opening, like a basket. 

The bag can be expanded on the sides to allow it to hold more or allow the yarn to unwind out the sides. 

There are, of course, pockets on the inside.  The pockets extend across the sides of the lining. 

These bags are going fast!  I am listing more regularly, so check back often to find your perfect bag at my Etsy shop.

My just-turned 9-year-old had a favorite book bag that she carried to school for 2 years.  The bag, as you can see, has seen better days. 

The fun thing about this bag is the pockets.  I decided to make a new bag using similar pockets but make the bag a little more girlie.  I had a drop cloth from a fabric painting class, and Alli and I decided it would be perfect.

 I used a purple print to soften the colors on the main fabric, and I played with the positioning and shapes of the pockets.  The final look is very different from the original bag; however, it keeps the functional size and shape of the original bag.  The pockets were designed to be more functional, and I added deep elastic-topped pockets to the sides of the bag, perfect for a small bottle of water.

The round pocket in the center of the bag is created using the Round Town pattern. 

The Round Town pattern has an optional pocket as well as instructions for  a small change purse.

The circle pocket is kind of mixture of the small coin purse and the pocket.   I used the front of the coin purse and made the band long enough to go all the way around the pocket.  Instead of an open pocket, the pocket is enclosed and is opened with the zipper. 

As I had already used this raised pocket technique on the Round Town bag, I used the same technique for the other pockets.  On 3 of the pockets; however, I didn’t use the bias binding on the outside but sewed the band to the top pocket right sides together and then topstitched to give it a finished look. 

The pockets with the flaps close with the mini Anorak snaps.  I placed a silk flower in the center of each snap for a girlie touch. 

Depending on the strap you use to carry the bag, the top can fold over as in the above photo.  I thought this was a great place for a little machine embroidery.  These flowers are Mod Flowers from A Bit of Stitch.  I tried them as embroidery without applique fabric behind the stitching, and they disappeared into the background.  I took them into my embroidery software and converted the designs to appliques.  The solid fabric behind the flowers now allows the stitching to stand out. 

Alli has been carrying the bag for about 6 weeks now and still loves it.   It is personalized and definitely a one of a kind!