LJ's bag- at long last!

This birthday present for Lovely LJ took me far too long- again with the fear of cutting the material and then ruining the whole project before it has even begun! I had never made a bag before in any shape or size, so to be honest, it was a guessing game the whole way!
I had an idea of the shape and style I wanted it to be, so started there. I also had the problem of deciding on a fastener for the bag... I was perplexed as to how I would put a zip on it properly, so I thought I'd cheat a little...
I put velcro on the inside and a big button on the front.

Okay, so you can clearly tell the button is just for decoration, but it was the best I could do!
I lined the bag with a black shirt I don't wear (don't worry LJ, it was freshly laundered!) and made a pretty sizable attempt at a gusset for the bag to give it some dimension.

making the strap for the bag

To me it was still too plain and needed something else, so I got some black felt for it and embroidered a rather stumpy looking bird.

By the way- embroidering on felt is very sore on the fingers. Beware!
But it looks cool. I added some buttons for 'food' for the bird, but also cos buttons look groovy.
I sewed three sides of the felt, so it serves as a phone pocket.
Or whatever LJ wants to put in it.

a headless Siob modelling the finished product

When I eventually got down to it and made the bag, it was relatively quick and easy to make!
Watch out you lot- it could be bags for everyone this Christmas.

Oh- and before I go, you may know my love of polar bears, so here is my new (still nameless) friend. He's been keeping me company:

And now I must retreat to my bed and read the Gary Lightbody interview in HotPress.
Sweet dreams!x