Then Anna of Noodlehead released her Cargo Duffle pattern for Robert Kaufman. Not only is it fabulous, it is FREE (thanks, Anna!). I NEEDED to make one, and A + B = Dance Cargo Duffle.
I modified it slightly, making it smaller in width by about 2 inches, which still provided oodles of room. I also only did one cargo pocket as I only had a small scrap of my favourite Japanese ballerina fabric left, which I used for the pocket flap. L-O-V-E.
The bag is quilted in a quilt-as-you-go manner to achieve its structure. The top half I quilted in straight lines (well, as straight as I can manage), and for the bottom portion I did a combination of freehand swirls and pebbles. The raw sedges inside the bag are then covered with bias tape. I had a half genius idea to cut my lining pieces a half inch larger on each side to allow fabric for fold over to cover the edges without bias tape. I say "half genius" because if I was really smart, I would have allowed a full inch for a double fold cover….a bit of pulling and coaxing was required, but it all worked out well!
I used a variety of girly fabrics for this bag- a wee floral from Tasha Noel's Little Red Riding Hood, a bit of Aneela Hoey Cherry Christmas, some Camille and Bonnie Bliss, a Riley Blake stripe, and some Essex linen to round things out, all from my stash. Which I have to say, only encouraged me further to justify my ridiculously out-of-control fabric hoarding….love how I had all these fabrics on hand that went together so perfectly!
I think my very favourite detail is the personalized label on the side panel, using printable fabric. Super cute and prevents other jealous ballerinas from trying to pinch her bag ;)
All in all, I expect to have a very happy little girl dancing around the tree on Christmas morning!
