Canteen Bag

I saw this bag on the sew4home website a few years back and fell in love with it.  My tween niece came to spend a week with me a few weeks back and I noticed she was in desperate of a new purse.  Since I was already going to make her a few items for the up coming school year, I asked did she want me to make her a purse also - of course she said yes.  

Canteen Bag (sew4home.com)

How I Did It

Sew4Home have detailed instructions - I will show construction pictures and notes about issues I ran into.

All fabric came from leftover fabric from other projects.  Sew4Home did this bag in a couple different fabrics and I really loved the fabric in the picture below and decided to recreate it.

My Fabric Inspiration

I cut the main fabric out of a deep dark navy denim.  Since my favorite color is purple and one of her favorite colors is purple, I decided to use that color as my guide (selfish I know).  

I used a design included with my machine and embroidered it using Maderia rayon embroidery thread.  I drew lines spaced 1" apart on the front and back panels and the pocket.  Using a purple based Sulky 12 wt cotton blendable thread.  I sewed straight lines using a triple straight stitch.

For the foam I used headliner that I had in my stash.  Since it does not have a fusible backing I used an Elmer's all purpose glue stick that I have had in my stash forever to adhere it to the back of the fabric.  I was quite surprised at how well it worked.

Headliner Foam

I used another denim for the trim and a home decor fabric for the lining - all in my stash.

Piping

Home Decor Used for Lining

I normally surge my edges on projects like this before I put it together but for some reason this time I didn't - boy did I regret it.  I tried  to do it after the fact but it did not work too well.

Zipper Assembly

The supply list calls for 5/8" fold over elastic to cover the raw edges of the inside of the bag.  This was not wide enough and since I had not serged my edges before hand I knew I needed to cover the raw edges to keep them from unraveling.

I wanted to finish this project that night and the store was already closed so I made a decision to use muslin.  It's not pretty but it works.  I cut 2" bias strips and folded each edge in 1/2".

For the strap rather than turning it inside out I turned in the edges 1/2" and then folded it in half.

Completed Bag

Conclusion

I love how this bag turned out.  I was disappointed that I couldn't use my matching fold over elastic - next time I will get it 1" wide or make my own in a complementary color.

What's Next

I have already made 4 pair of "semi" leggings for my niece and a dress (I will post later).  I still have to complete a jean jacket and a matching jacket for the dress.  I want to also make her some jeans but I will need her here with me for fitting them.