Another bag

The "internal metal purse frames" arrived, and so now we have them in three sizes at the store.  I know how hard it is to figure out how to use them, so I wanted to include an instruction sheet with each one.  So, of course i thought that I needed to take a few more photos of the process.  That meant making another bag.  Of course.

 
I decided to make this one rather long, but shallow, with the idea of it holding knitting needles. 

 I had been wanting to use this really great Joel Dewberry decorator fabric that is pink and white and red.  I happened to have some red and white ribbon on hand as well.  And of course black and lime green always add to a project!

 I used a layer of batting quilted to the outside fabric, and a layer of iron on interfacing to the lining to give the bag a bit of body.  Of course I took lots of photos on how to put the lining and the outside together, with the fabric channel to hold the metal tube.  You sew around the top edges and turn the thing inside out through a gap you leave in the side seam of the lining. 
After all that, I didn't end up using the new photos in the instruction sheet.

But it does hold knitting needles pretty well.

Internal Metal Purse Frame

 This is the second purse that I made using this hardware: (the "internal metal purse frame")

 I wanted to show you how to use one of these because it is easy to do, but hard to figure out if you're like me.

It helps if you've made a tote bag before sometime.  This one is a simple tote with a lining and two straps. 
 So all you do, is when you sew the lining and the outside of the bag together , and you insert the straps, just add a folded over rectangle of fabric into the seam as well:

 Then you dismantle the frame by pulling out the little screws at either end that hold the two sides together.

 run each of the metal tubes through the fabric rectangles, and then put the post screws back in how they were before.  There are two other little ends that you screw in to the ends of the posts so that it is all secure!

If you missed my other post about the bag made with a ribbon panel, it was here

(On this bag, the handles were sewn on later, not sewn in between the lining and the outer piece)

(Oh, and of course if you want to use try this out yourself, I tracked down a source for them and placed an order, so I hope we'll have them available at the shop in a couple of weeks, in 3 sizes!)