As of July I got a new boss. She’s asked me several times to make her a Jamie-Made and I’m wary of making others stuff for fear of it falling apart. I decided I would make her something for Xmas. I thought about making her an apron because she bakes as a side business. After I brought my big bag to work, she said she also needed one. Screw the apron, she’s getting a giant bag!
The search for fabric began. It needed to be purple, the right shade or purple and a heavy weight. After searching, I came to the conclusion that I needed to dye fabric. This can really be hit or miss for me. I found ice-dying on Pinterest. The gist of it is to cover wet fabric with ice, sprinkle on powder dye and let it sit for 24 hours.

Here it is at the get-go. I used pink and purple dye. You can see where the dye hits the fabric between the ice. Those spots will be darker. The fabric sits on a rack so the water drips into the container below.

This is halfway through. You can see the colors starting to blend. It takes a lot of patience to get through the this!

You can see that the colors blended together nicely. I think the colors wouldn’t have been so muddied if I would have washed it right after rinsing it.

I used the same dimensions from my bag for this one. (17 1/2″ x 16 3/4″ x 8 1/4″) Instead of a pleather bottom, this one has a heavy cotton purple bottom. I was worried if I didn’t give it a dark bottom the dyed fabric would get dirty so fast.

I did make the handles longer than mine. It makes it easier to throw over your shoulder. I secured them into the base and with an X stitch towards to top to keep them from pulling away from the bag.

I added a magnetic snap for an easy closure. I stitched her name in purple thread into one side so there’s no question whos bag it is! Purple is her favorite color. Preferably lighter shades so the ice dye provided a good mix of shades.

The inside is also a mix of purple which I bought before I completed the dying process. Fringes crossed that they would go together and I’m so happy they did!

I had a bit of leftover fabric so I made a supposed cosmetic bag. I have no idea what you can fit into it since it’s so tiny. It’s 4″ X 4 1/4″ x 1 7/8″. Maybe a lipstick and a small compact?

Same fabric on the inside and outside plus a purple zipper. *squeal* This was a free pattern I found. Next time I make it I will have to make it a lot bigger.

Not only does she get an awesome big bag but a cute little, teeny, tiny bag. She better like it or else I’m keeping it!
This was the first project I completed in my new sewing room. I’ve been busy with the move so it was nice getting back into the sewing groove. How amazing of me for my first sew to be for someone else!?!