Bucket Bag

I bought Lisa Lam's book, The Bag Making Bible, several months ago and have been dying to try some of the patterns given. Actually, it is much more than a book with wonderful patterns in it (which it does have by the way. . .) because it also shows you a lot of techniques for making bags that you can then incorporate into your own designs. I have so many design ideas swimming around in my head it's not even funny, but because my sewing time is limited right now I decided to just make one of Lisa's patterns.

This would be the perfect bag to take to the library to get a stack of books, as a smallish diaper bag for those times when you need to just take a few things with you, to the farmer's market to buy some produce, to the craft fair to stash your amazing finds in. . . you get the idea. A perfect, not-too-big tote bag with a ton of great uses.

I used Heather Bailey Nicey Jane fabric for the interior and exterior. The binding, covered button, and bottom of the bag are from the Amy Butler Midwest Modern collection. It uses just 1/2 yd. of three coordinating fabrics so I could buy some of the fabric I had been drooling over without breaking the bank.

If you don't have the book, don't want to buy the book (I personally recommend buying the book if you like making bags), but LOVE the bag and really want to make one you are totally in luck! You can find the pattern for FREE (Yes FREE!) at Sew Mama Sew!

I had so much fun sewing and had a few scraps left over that I couldn't waste that I whipped up a zippered bag to go inside. I followed the same self-quilting technique that I used to make this birthday placemat.