My latest crafty attempt: A dance bag

L is starting dance classes next week, which I think I've mentioned. She's done two years of ballet and tap and she's really, really happy to be doing acro and cheer dance this time around. We spent Wednesday running around looking for shoes and dance clothes, which after much searching we finally found. I love that our dance studio stresses modesty and that midriffs and thigh must be covered at all times, but we had a hard time finding a "biketard" (a leotard with legs that come down like bike shorts). We also drooled over the various dance bags. Her old one is in bad shape, but I was not going to spend the small fortune they cost.

So I decided to make one myself.

I pulled out a pattern I've had for awhile and all the scraps from past projects - fabric, thread, buttons, even all the boring stuff like interfacing, bias tape, and heat n' bond. I took the basic structure of the bag from the pattern, but I pretty much made stuff up as I went. This is what we ended up with.


Isn't it awesome? It's a great size to carry the few things she needs to keep in there. I made the bag with a heavy interfacing to keep it's shape. I used some scraps of pink and yellow fabric because L asked for "something cute, like flowers". I ironed the heat n' bond to the fabric, traced some flower shapes and cut them out, then ironed the flowers to the bag. Then came the painful work of edging those flowers with a blanket stitch. It turned out really cute, but it was the first time I had ever done applique, so I had to go really slow. I added the buttons, then sewed in a pink lining for the bag. I used some wide bias tape to cover the raw edge around the top, sewed on the straps, and added the ruffle and it was done. Then I cut a piece of stiff plastic the shape of the bottom to help the bag keep it's shape even better. Because it's so hard to know when you're "done".

The second best part is that the bag was absolutely FREE. Everything I used was from my stash of left-overs. The very best part is that L was very, very pleased with her new bag and every other girl who's seen it has asked me to make her one. Here's K who graciously offered to model the bag for me since L was in the bath. She wants one.