Well Helloooooooo Ethel!

Aren't you a lovely little thing?

I have recently taken a slight detour from dressmaking and made some lovely bags, wallets and pouches . . . . and this is the lovely Ethel.  This is a pattern by Swoon, and they have some most delicious ideas, my crystal ball tells me that there will be a number of these bags in my future!  The pattern is free - so if you fancy dipping your toes in the bag making world - you can't go too far wrong here!

The fabric is from Ikea is a decor weight, and I used the recommended 20” wide fusible woven interfacing (Pellon Shapeflex SF101) where required and fusible batting instead of foam as I'm not too sure where I can get the foam, here in Canada.

The interfacing provides a surprising amount of stability but it is not rigid at all.  The fusible batting is, of course, lovely.  There are two large pockets on the front - somewhat hidden in the photo above due to some nifty pattern matching, but you can see a bit here:

There are also two pockets inside as well - just perfect!  The straps are a great length for throwing the bag over my shoulder - my preferred mode of carrying!

I love this bag, and am planning the next version - hmm, what fabric to use next?

Have you made any bags?  What is your favourite shape?