Va Bene!

Remember when I made that little photo zippered pouch for my BFF for her birthday? Well, I also made her a large Open Wide Zippered Pouch to use as a knitting project bag.  I didn't write a post about it, but I did put a picture of it on my 2013 Sewing FOs page.

For that bag, I used London Icons by Makower UK, a super-cute fabric.  But what I really wanted to use was the Vespas print from the new Dear Stella line called Va Bene* - my friend is nuts about Vespas!  Sadly, it was out of stock at the time I needed it, so I had to give her a rain check.

I was able to order the fabric about a week after her birthday.  In addition to the Vespas, I also got Va Bene Stripe and Italy Map.  I ordered a half yard each, so I had enough to make 2 large bags - one for her and one for me!  I made these yesterday:

Sally's bag, in front, has the Vespas on top and the stripe on the bottom, with the Italy map inside:

And my bag has the Italy map on top and the stripe on the bottom, with the Vespas inside!

I really love this bag for knitting projects.  This is the largest size given in the tutorial.  It uses a 14" zipper, and the pieces are cut to 11" x 14" before sewing.  The flat bottom enables the bag to stand on its own without flopping over; I used fusible fleece as interfacing to make it even sturdier, but still soft.

Here's mine, with the almost-completed back of my Still sweater:

See how much room is in there?  Love it!

I also love that I didn't use up all my fabric - I have enough left over for a couple of small projects I think!


*The same line as the Tuscany in Taupe print I posted a couple weeks ago that everyone loved so much!