LeSportsac Kasey Bag Knock-off

Sorry to all you cake lovers out there, but I have been in sewing mode for the last week or so.  I may have awakened the other part of me that has been dormant for a long time now.  And I am so glad I did!  Sometimes I really long to break away from the kitchen and all that baking.

I really didn't believe I could do it but I did finish a new project just before the school holidays ended. I made a LeSportsac Kasey bag knock-off!

The Kasey bag costs $42-$56 and it's only 7.75 x 9.5 inches in size.  I really like it but I don't think I can ever spend that much money on such a small bag.

I love how my bag turned out. The only thing I regret is using laminated fabric. (I laminated the fabric myself with iron-on vinyl.  That paisley fabric is the same one I used for the mini messenger bag in my last post.) It got all wrinkly when I turned the bag over to its right side.  Maybe next time I will just use cotton fabric or maybe I'll try ripstop nylon.

There is an existing tutorial for a triple zip pouch but I had one look at it and found it too confusing and it's not exactly the same as this bag.  I just did it my way and tried to stay true to how the Kasey bag is constructed. 

I paid attention to all the details and really fussed about the zip ends.  I wanted it to look neat and perfect.

I wasn't in the beginning but I'm really confident now that I can make a pattern out of this.  Fingers-crossed, I will be able to do so in the next week or so.

In the meantime, I can assure my caking friends that I have not taken baking for granted.  It is my youngest son's birthday this coming Sunday and I already have a NEW chiffon cake planned for the day.  So watch out for that!

Have a good week!

The Mini Messenger Bag Resurrected

Last night, I was going over some of my old blog posts (circa 2008).  One thing I clearly noticed was how different my writing style was back then.  It was much more interesting!  I think it's probably because I wrote about a variety of things - crafting, my kids, my family back in the Philippines, happy days, sad days, etc. These days, it's always about the cake recipes and nothing else.  Boring and repetitive.

The reason I was actually looking back was because I was planning to sew one of my most favourite creations ever - my mini messenger bag.  I had the sudden urge to make a bag because earlier in the day, I was browsing over the Lesportsac website and was drooling over gorgeous but ridiculously-priced bags!  At the same time, I had made a promise to myself to sew something this school holidays (apart from the USB flash drive case) but because life has been pretty chaotic around here (it's been a week now since my husband left to visit his family back home), I decided to just resurrect an old project rather than come up with a new one.

I cut all the fabric pieces before going to bed late last night then made the bag this morning while my younger kids were still asleep.  I was nearly done when they woke up. Before lunch, my bag was already finished!

I didn't buy a single item for this bag.  Everything came from my existing stash - fabric scraps, interfacing, magnetic snap, zippers, and the old strap that originally came from a Kathmandu satchel then later re-used in my other mini messenger bag.

My new bag has all the same great features of my previous bags...

The two front pockets -

The zip top closure - 

The zipper tab - 

Completely lined interior (using pre-quilted fabric here) - 

The adjustable straps -

With an all-new zippered back pocket!

I thought about this change at the last minute and I just love it! 

This bag is totally me.  I'm definitely the denim jeans kind of girl plus navy blue is my favourite colour.

Rarely do I give myself a pat on the back when I accomplish something beautiful but I think I deserve one right now.  Great job, me! :)))

(Just as I finished posting this, I received an email from Strandbags - they are having a sale on brand name bags.  No, thank you. I already have a bag!)


PS. My messenger bag tutorial is here.  Notes on mini messenger bag can be downloaded here.