Patchwork Project Bag

It seems like such a long time since I last blogged (probably because it is!)  I have been busy working on a number of projects, many of which I have completed, and now have plenty to keep me going with my blogging for the next few weeks.

As part of the textiles course I have been attending at night school, we looked at patchwork.  I really love the mix and match look of patchwork and have had a go at a few projects using simple rectangular strips of patchwork in the past.  On the course we looked at the use of hexagons to create patchwork, a technique very popular in Victorian times and again in the seventies.  In class I made a simple hexagon patchwork flower, using some patterned fabric from an old skirt, which could very simply be used to decorate a cushion cover.

The patchwork page in my sketchbook

Everyone on the course chooses a final project to make.  I have been dying to make the hexagon patchwork knitting bag from Cath Kidston's Sew for a long time and saw this as my opportunity to finally get it made.  Now, this wasn't a small project - would I pick anything easy?  And has taken me quite a long time to finish.  This is why:

It required 60, yes 60, hexagons to make the  bag.  That meant:

Cutting out 60 small paper hexagons. (I used an old magazine)





Cutting out 1 larger paper hexagon to use as a template to then cut out 60 fabric hexagons





Sewing 60 fabric hexagons over the 60 paper hexagons

Sewing all 60 hexagons together, in a specific way, to make the bag and then sewing in the lining and attaching the handles!

A lot of work?  Definitley, but I really really enjoyed it!  It was a great project that could be picked up and put down as and when.  Some nights I managed 2 or 3 hexagons whilst other days I would make lots of progress.  It was really rewarding to watch it grow and to see how all the different patterns of fabrics came together and I love my finished bag. 

My finished bag

In the interests of sustainability, and saving some pennies, I used fabric from my stash.  There are fabric scraps left over from past projects, fabric from old clothes, fabric from larger pieces I have and, if you look carefully, fabric from the printing I did earlier on in the course; I just made sure that they were all of similiar weights.  Each fabric appears no more than 3 times and I arranged them carefully to create a real mix of pattern and colour.  The lining fabric and handles I already had; I bought absolutley nothing new to make it. 

Now I have caught the patchwork bug, I am desperate to tackle a large project - a cushion? another bag? or maybe an entire quilt??