Project Bags

OK, move over burp cloths and pillowcases. This is my next obsession – Piecekeeper Project Bags designed and promoted by ByAnnie. I got hooked on these when I bought two kits put together by Wooden Gate Quilts in Danville CA and demonstrated on their Thursday noon Live Instagram show. I have never watched the shopping network – possibly a source of false pride...? – but this comes pretty darn close. With COVID minimizing my getting out and about, it is fun once a week to see the new fabrics and products coming into the quilt shop. This is the first of two kits I bought and made. It measures 11" x 17", has a mesh front, zippered front top opening, and quilted back. Also supplied in the kit are three fat quarters: one for the back, one for the lining and one for the bias binding. They are intended for my seven-year-old and five-year-old granddaughters who I will be visiting for the first time in well over a year. I plan to populate them with a few small gifts like books or stickers or puzzles.

I chose a rainbow fat quarter for the back and it seemed to call for a diagonal quilting grid. The lilac fat quarter by Tula Pink had little bugs on it and I thought they would look cute as the lining peeking out through the mesh like from within an insect net. The five year old will get this bag.

 

Here is the bag front with the zipper and mesh attached and a peek at the inside of the finished bag showing the pink "Grunge" polka dot binding. Grunge fabric by Moda Fabrics has become one of the most popular basic fabrics around. 200+ amazing colors, textures, and shadings will make you go gaga for Grunge.

Here are the front and back views of the bag made for my seven-year-old granddaughter. She too gets rainbows but as the lining. Her main fabric is flowery pebbles by Kaffe Fassett. Once again the binding is the pink polka dot "Grunge".

With each kit came an excellent, well-detailed instruction sheet that called out the supplies needed.

When I make more of these I have plenty of my own fat quarters to supply so I calculated the cost of the other components. It came to about slightly over $12 if I provided my own fabric.

• Fabric 3 Fat quarters @ $3-$4 each: ~$10
  
• Soft and Stable 18"x58" @ $12 will yield 4 bags: $3 per bag
• Fusible interfacing 1 yd @ $5 will yield 4 bags: $1.25 per bag
• Mesh 18" x 54" @ $6 will yield 6 bags: $1 per bag
• Zipper $7 per bag
• Subtotal cost per bag: $3 + $1.25 + $1 + $7 = $12.25 before adding ~$10 in fat quarters

I could not just make ones for two granddaughters and leave out my grandson, or while I was at it his dad, mom, and other new infant sister. Here are the fabrics I used for my three-year old grandson and his dad, my son, who works in construction. The CAT heavy construction equipment and their tire tracks will appeal I am sure. The deep blue and bright yellow back was quilted horizontally like a road. The quilting also aligns with the tire tread tracks of the lining

His dad's was also quilted horizontally but using a subtler grey colorway and the bright yellow only as accents. My son will appreciate that I toned down the color choices somewhat for him.

My grandkids' mom is a runner so I had this fabric I bought on a shopping trip in 2015 in a fabric store in North Carolina, saving it for my daughter-in-law. I quilted this vertically to represent the lanes on a running track. I used a fabric that matched the mini-polka dot binding rather than using webbing for the handle.

How long do these take to make? Certainly longer than a pillowcase or a burp cloth. It has been rumored that one clerk at Wooden Gate Quilts can spit one project bag out in 45 minutes! For me, a novice at this bag construction, I would guess my first bag took about six hours; this time includes lunch, snack, think, and leisurely admiration breaks. That sounds like a lot but I checked and double checked the two-sided instruction sheet at each step. Plus, beforehand I take my sweet old time making my fabric selection. You would think buying a kit would cut out this step but oh, no. I have to decide which fat quarter to use for which component. I provide only the outline here for the construction instructions. You can download the free pdf from the By Annie website. There is an instructional video also.

I. CUT AND QUILT
     A. Cut
     B. Quilt to Prepare Bag Back

II. PREPARE COMPONENTS
     A. Prepare Bias Binding
     B. Prepare Handle
     C. Prepare Bag Front

III ASSEMBLE BAG
     A. Attach Bag Front to Bag Back
     B. Attach Handle
     C. Round Corners and Bind

I spent time Googling a source of more supplies. I bought more mesh and zippers in several colors for future bags. Two of my local quilt stories have limited supplies, mostly due to demand and commercial COVID shipping delays. I am a guilty culprit, too, having bought out my local Livermore quilt shop In Between Stitches' supply of zippers in seven different colors. I can get the Soft and Stable and limited mesh and zippers at the quilt shop that initially got me hooked on these kits. The ByAnnie zippers have a wider zipper tape and so are best suited for bag construction. Although I give my brick and mortar stores first shot, I have been successful online at the The Fat Quarter Shop and ByAnnie for a more exotic and fun color selection of both mesh and zippers. As you can see, this is my fun new diversion.

I made two more project bags after getting some more supplies. One for my three-month old granddaughter, made from leftover fabrics from her quilt (my post dated 2/19/21), tea party on the back and birds on a wire for the lining. I populated the bag with a mouse rattle that also squeaks (my post dated 3/10/21), a cloth book with crinkly pages (my post dated 4/11/21) and some purchased vinyl bath tub books.

Then I made a project bag for my sister populated only with the instructions to make this bag and a Happy Birthday card. I did not write on the card. She knows the bag and card are from me by the return address on the mailing envelope. That way she can repurpose the card to send to someone else. After all, it is the thought that counts. She likes blue and turquoise and seashells. I finally – yes, finally – broke up a coordinated stack of fat quarters I have been "saving".

I made these last two bags on the same day and I estimated they took me about 2½ hours each. That is still quite aways away from that local quilt store staff record of 45 minutes. I doubt I will ever be that fast. For one thing, it takes me at least that long to select my three fat quarters! I enjoy making these so why rush the process?