Whiplash - Altered Knitting Bag

Although I'm very creative and can come up with lots of things to make on my own; my favorite kind of craft lately is taking an item that might be a little bland, and making it perfect for me and my needs. I call it perfunctional crafting, because I love making things both more personal and functional at the same time. LOL This is my entry in June's Whiplash - Introduce Yourself.

When I first got this bag (for Christmas from my husband,) I thought it looked a little plain. The color was really nice, but it was just a plain solid. It has a bit of texture with a diagonal weave, but other than that - a little vanilla on the outside. Nothing really wrong, just not quite "me" yet. LOL Then, I spotted it on Craft Daisies, with some upgrades! And I knew I had to make mine really "mine!"

I had the fabric for a few months, for another home dec project, and had tons leftover. It's not a quite a barkcloth, but still a very stiff fabric. Not necessarily great for bulgy items, but perfect for patterns - they've never sat correctly inside the bag, with my knitting & yarn. Voila! Perfect pattern pocket for my knitting bag! LOL I sewed up the open side first, and then used fusible tape to attach it to the bag. I'm lucky it opens tightly, otherwise I would've had to hand sew the pocket into place. Blegh! (Can you tell how I feel about hand sewing? LOL) Even still, fusing the pocket down was a little tricky, and I managed to scorch the fabric slightly. Good thing it's a beige background with darker beige and mocha accents, it's not terribly noticeable.

At first, I couldn't decide what to do with the second side. The more I thought about it, though - I didn't want to clash with the print of the mod fabric. But I still wanted something really unique, jazzy & cool. I think I managed to pull those off, carrying the print up behind the second pocket, in only one repeat. Trying to explain it to my husband was a little tricky, and I didn't even really know what it would look like before I cut the piece out & pinned it in place. I was very pleased when I did though, because it turns out I like it even more than I thought I would! LOL

I used more fusible tape to attach the second pocket, and then used fabric glue to attach the print repeat behind & above it (so I could get it just right!) I think it turned out beautifully, and I'm really pleased with it. I love being able to personalize things, and make them work better for my needs. What mass-produced item could ever fit everyone perfectly? I say none, so tweak, twist, recycle and redo what you have to make it better!