The Mom Must Be Crazy

It's after midnight.  I have to drive nearly 100 miles tomorrow morning to the competition, stay until after 9:30 pm, then drive nearly 100 miles home again.  And here I am blogging about the backpack/purse I just finished.

Working with the upholstery/home dec fabrics was harder than I thought - once you get to the back of the backpack and are working through the lining, the outer fabric, the straps (which are upholstery weight and interfaced, doubled, then topstitched), the flap (doubled & interfaced as well), and the casing, you're talking about at least eleven layers of fabric & interfacing that you have to top stitch through.  My Viking, it doth protest.     But it managed it all, somehow.  Even though I had to stitch, then rip out, then stitch....and repeat.

Working on the flap, with all of its trims & tassels.  I thought this was going to be the hardest part.  I was wrong.

The most difficult part?  Stitching the straps for the back.  Between the instructions on the internet (see previous post), the MUCH thicker fabric I decided to use, and the different set of sliders that was all I could find at Joann's, things got so confusing that I just about needed to be committed.  Heck, I was going to volunteer at one point.  Turning those straps took TWO HOURS.

My "MOM" tattoo.  Just in case someone forgets who I am.  

A close-up of the flap.  I'm not entirely convinced that this fringe belongs here, but since it's sewn in pretty permanently...it kind of obscures the pocket below it, and that has a really nice trim on it that is almost invisible now.  

Love the casing idea, even though it means the cord (THE cord, for those of you who read my post yesterday) hangs out.  This was far easier than trying to set grommets through upholstery fabric, I'm sure.  

A simple inside pocket.  Don't ask why the lining is sitting in this weird way.

After sewing the lining and attaching it to the bag, you were supposed to turn the entire thing right-side out through a four inch opening in the lining.  

L.     O.     L.     It was roughly akin to giving birth. 

Strangely enough, I'd like to make another one.