romille

Today I was poking about crafty accessories and found this:
http://embroidery.com/product.ec?pro...81796&els=@els

Which inspired me to try to make something like it for myself. Trouble is, I don't have a lot of bag making experience and I can't find a tutorial for it. So if you guys know of a pattern, tutorial, bits of a tutorial, or just have tips to make this possible please let me know!

My idea is to pretty much make a quilted rectangle with rounded corners that could wrap around the frame. Then I would use webbing and slide buckles to create straps and a handle, kinda like a messenger bag, using the slides to make it snug. A pocket would be nice too, but I haven't pondered that one too much yet. Maybe I could just fold some fabric and make a simple pocket... but I would rather have a zipper. Or even a detachable pocket that zips or snaps on.

I am trying to figure out how to do this and have it not look terrible on the inside though. Is there a way to hide the stitching from the handle and straps at all? Right now I am thinking that to make it durable, the best option would be to attach the handle and the bottom straps after quilting, and the top straps could be sewn into the seam of the flap... but that would show all the stitching for the handle and bottom straps. I could hide the stitching if I attached the handles before quilting, but I think that would leave a void in the quilting where I couldn't go over the handles. Am I missing an option?

I was thinking of making a handle like this one, possibly extending the webbing to the sides to include d-rings for a strap with a swiveling clip:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...rt=162&ndsp=16

PaperPrincess

quilt your rectangle, but use muslin or ugly fabric as the backing, add strap, pockets etc., then cut a piece of lining fabric the same size as the rectangle. Place wrong sides together, then bind. you might have to add a couple of rows of topstitching to keep the lining from shifting, but it shouldn't be a problem.

peaceandjoy

That's a great idea, and would be very easy to make. At least one of the fabrics that is shown in the link you provided is a pre-quilted fabric - I know this b/c I used that same fabric to make a weekender tote. So you could go that route, finish the edges w/ binding and put on Velcro - done in under an hour!

Here are links to others with tutes: http://kaelynscreativestudio.blogspo...me-covers.html
http://pinwheelponders.blogspot.com/...kings-for.html
http://www.scarletquince.com/elbow_glove.php