New Lunch Bag

My old lunch bag made of oilcloth (a kind of lightweight vinyl) served me well for about a year, but even good things must come to an end!  In this case, oil from my hands disintegrated the vinyl grips, while occasional heavy lunches took out the bottom corners.  So I came home from work one day, shook my head, and pulled it apart to make a new one! 

Sad state of handles

I've un-sewed the bottom, but you can still see the worn corners

This time, I decide to use some heavy cotton cloth... an organic cotton canvas made by Birch Fabrics.  The pattern is called "Poppies Paprika" and is now out of stock.  I don't know where I got this fabric, but I have a few scraps of it in my stash and keep thinking I'll turn them into a hat!  Well, first I'll turn some of them into a lunch bag.  I use the vinyl pieces as patterns for my new cotton pieces.  

The project comes together really fast, and is pretty much the same procedure as the first time I made it, except that it's easier to manipulate fabric under the machine than vinyl.  So if you want to see how to make a bag, check out the post about the original bag.  Today, I'll simply show the new version and highlight a few differences.  Below are the cut pieces I'm working with:

This time, I sew the facing for the top edge to the inside first, then fold it to the outside.  I like that look better, since then the top-stitching has a mount to sit on.  The raw edges of the handles are enclosed in the facing and top-stitched down, then turned upward and top-stitched in place that way. 

Exterior facing with handles sewn in

Handles pinned up for the next lines of top-stitching.

I like the labels printed in the selvedge because the birds in the logo make me smile...

So I use that selvedge inside one of the handles! 

The original vinyl bag was finished on the inside with a glued-down bottom piece.  Liking that pop of color down there (and thinking to protect my seam allowances from wear), I do something similar with this bag; I cut a bottom piece and serge its edges, then pin it in place and top-stitch around its perimeter. 

And my finished bag...  a lot floppier than the vinyl one, but hopefully longer-lasting!