I love your idea of quilting the bag first; I would not have thought of that.

this thread has made me remember a quilt we made for some friends who got married - TRIPLE wedding ring and they picked Waverly fabric, which was a bit heavier and glossier than regular quilt fabric. It was lovely but a real pain to (hand)quilt through.

My friends church was given a large box of corduroy and velour fabric. They went to work and made new robes for their Shepard’s and Wise Men in the Sunday school program to replace the old ratty ones they’d used for many years. They thought it was a “win-win”.