I love purses and bags!

I am in love with making purses and bags. For the most part, they are pretty simple projects, don't take a ton of time, and I feel like I've accomplished something. Don't get me wrong, I love to sew anything and I love to piece and quilt, but with a limited amount of time, throwing in a simple or smaller project is just what I need to get that feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT.

I participate in Bernina Software Sampler classes monthly at my Bernina dealer, Shiisa Quilts in Bloomington, Indiana.  There were a multitude of techniques discussed in August's class featuring some of the vast array of things you can do with Designer Plus V6 software.  The project was to do a raggy type bag using some of the designs we created.  I'm not a raggy type person, so I elected to do a hobo style bag pattern called Carol's Purse Pattern from Creative Needlecraft.  I purchased several of their patterns at various shows, but this was the first one I've made.  The directions were good and I had no problem constructing the bag.  I made several modifications to fit what I wanted to do, and I like the way it turned out.

I took an old pair of jeans to use for the fabric, in keeping with the techniques we were using.  One of the great features of the software is the ability to scan in a pocket or a flap or whatever and then use that to create placement lines for doing the embroidery placement.  It turned out perfectly.  In addition to the embroidery designs, I embellished them with an all-purpose ink from Tsukineko in Champaign Mist.  Love this and see many uses for it.  It was easy to apply, dried fast and was ready to go with a little heat set from the iron.

The photos are some of my in process shots and then a few close-ups of the designs, and finally the finished bag!

The embroidery and construction was done on my Bernina 830.