This little satchel bag came about because I got tired of carrying SO MUCH stuff in my bag every time we left the house! As well as the usual drink bottles and snacks, I’d end up with books, pencils, little toys and other treasures to cart around and I decided enough was enough! My kids are big enough to carry their own stuff now but they needed something practical to carry it around in.
Mini Messenger is an ideal size for kids. My kids in particular are crazy about sketch books at the moment, if they have a sketch book and a handful of pencils then they are happy. I usually buy them the A5 size as they are more portable so I designed this bag to fit A5 size. The finished bag measures 7″x10″.
I’ve used two coordinating prints for my bag, but you can use more or less depending on what you would like the finished bag to look like. It is a really quick and easy sew, especially when you use the webbing for the strap instead of having to make your own strap out of fabric.
As well as being a great bag for your own kids to help you lighten your load, the Mini Messenger makes a fantastic gift to give to little friends. Fill it with a couple of treats and you’re set! And I do suggest you use some Wee Wander fabric for your Mini Messenger – it’s gorgeous!
I’ve been quietly doing lots of pattern updating and upsizing behind the scenes. Thought I’d pop some information on the blog so that you know what’s new!
NEW PATTERNS TO PDF
The following patterns are now avaliable in PDF instant download format:
I’ve also updated the cover photos of Coastal Breeze and Flipsy – you can see the new photos above. Here are some extras pics of these two favourite patterns…
(Oh, and due to so many requests, Flipsy is now also avaliable in BIG sizes – 6-10 years!)
This blog post has been a long time coming…I’ve been corresponding with the girls at The Drapery for months about sharing their store and beautiful fabrics on my blog, but things seemed to keep popping up (how long can I use Harvey as an excuse for my email slackness?!) and we didn’t seem to get it together. I think that it was one of those “meant to be” moments though because as soon as I designed my Essential Shorts pattern, I knew that The Drapery would have a great selection of linens for me to try out with the pattern, and I wasn’t wrong!
The Drapery is a real, bricks-and-mortar store in Adelaide, South Australia. I haven’t been there before, but don’t you think it looks lovely?
If you live in Adelaide, make sure you go and visit the shop for me. For the rest of us, The Drapery also has an online store so that we don’t have to miss out!
The Drapery was opened in 2013 by two very talented sewers, Fiona and Jane. Check out their blogs, they sew some A-mazing things! I love the selection of fabrics that Fiona and Jane stock. They have an eye for sophisticated style and specialise in natural fabrics, particularly linen, hemp, wool and organic cotton. As well as stocking a big selection of designer sewing patterns and high-quality notions.
For my shorts sewing, the girls sent me a couple of different linens to try out.
The pea green linen at the top is a linen/cotton blend – found here.
And the blue is 100% linen, found here. Both are made in Lithuania.
The thing you need to remember when buying linen is that they soften with washing and wearing. These two fabrics were quite stiff and a little starchy feeling when they first arrived so I overlocked the raw edges and threw them in the washing machine and dryer and they came out super soft and drapey.
These shorts are soooooo comfortable. Usually by the end of the day I’m hanging out to change into pyjamas or a pair of trackies, but I’m in no hurry to take these shorts off. The linen is so lightweight, but not at all see-through and it isn’t itchy like some linens seem to be. They are a bit wrinkly in these photos after a morning of wear, but that’s what linen does and I quite like the crushed look that is characteristic of linen fabric. Make sure you pop back tomorrow…I’ve got some goodies to give away from The Drapery!
Here’s another pair of Essential Shorts I made using a dark navy linen. The dark colour was difficult to photograph and still capture the details of the shorts. This fabric was bought from my local quilting store quite a long time ago, they do have a lovely range of coloured linens to choose from though.
I received some gorgeous linens from The Drapery during the week and am hoping to get another pair of shorts made using some of it this week so I’ll be back to share!
Thanks a million for your excitement about this new pattern, it’s always hard to predict what you are going to think about them, so I’m happy when I get such encouraging comments.
The winner of the pattern giveaway is Abbe from Copper Patch. Congratulations! I’ll be in contact to grab your details 🙂
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Essential Shorts pattern Navy blue linen (locally bought)
