Bag a Week: Messenger Bag

It is my solemn duty to answer any and all of Cakestina's craft questions in her cosplay adventures, so naturally, when she asked about how to make a messenger bag for a Lucca costume, I got very excited.

Actually, I didn't make this one for Christina. I made it for me. I made it as a purse, but then Ben asked if this was attempt #2 at a messenger bag, and I realized that it basically is almost perfect for that Lucca costume.

This is actually what happened first.

THIS THING IS MASSIVE. SERIOUSLY.

It fits in an armchair. The entire seat! I know I tend to overestimate my measurements, but this is a bit much even for me.

Here's the back. Holy crap. I don't know what I was thinking when I drew up my pattern, but I do know these things:

1. I swore a LOT while attaching the iron-on interfacing. I hate iron-on interfacing.
2. I kept thinking, "Gee, this bag feels huge!" while sewing, and yet never once clued in that yes, Sandra, it is actually way too big.
3. I apparently can't measure to save my life.

Look at this cavernous interior.

The second, much more reasonably sized bag, has that cute asymmetrical flap, and a much more reasonably sized inside, with three pockets.

Did you see my tutorial on elastics? (Actually, that was also for Christina's benefit.) I had a plan. Whenever I add pockets to my purses, they always get kind of droopy. But a while back, I was looking at purse organizers, and noticed that they often have a little elastic casing on their pockets, which seemed like a great idea.

And here is the wrinkly, un-ironed back. I've put them back on my queue, with the intention of fixing the pattern later so I can write a tutorial on it some time. Some time later!