Zipped A3 art bag/paper folder

I have a few bits of A3 paper which were difficult to store neatly. I decided to make a stiffened fabric bag to store them in, but it would also be great for taking art materials to a class etc.

I wanted to use what I had 

- navy blue upholstery fabric with a white back - used for the main bag

- blue striped webbing - used for the handles

- navy blue polyester fabric - used for the cardboard pockets

- 2 brown zips, recycled from old home dec - used as the closure

- cardboard - used as the stiffener.

From the upholstery fabric I cut 

- 1 large piece for the front, back and bottom of the bag

- a long strip which I cut in half as the gusset containing the zip

- some small pieces for the ends of the zip area.

From the lining fabric I cut

- 1 large piece the same size as the upholstery fabric

Sewing steps

Sewed the two zips, end to end within the long strips of the gusset and topstitched. Added a bit extra to the ends.

Hemmed the long edge of the pocket fabric, then based it onto the back of the upholstery fabric. Stitched 2 channels to make the pockets to hold the cardboard pieces later.

Stitched the handles to the upholstery fabric.

Stitched the gusset to the bag, making sure the handles were sandwiched in the right place.

I then cut 3 cardboard pieces to size (front, back and bottom) and slid them into the pockets.

Then filled the folder up with all my outsize paper and cardboard.

I'm happy with my neat A3 storage

Fleece socks

 Great for keeping feet warm on cold days

I've adapted the Ellie and Mac Free Sock Pattern by adding a bit around the edge as although fleece does stretch, its by less than the pattern needs. I also generally omit the cuff and utilise the pre finished edge of the fleece blanket.

I make sure to cut the pieces out with the stretch going around the foot.

I have loads of these and wear them at home all winter.

Denim utility gilet

 Here's my latest make, I'll call it a gilet.

The fabric was pulled from the fabric boxes, I've had it for more than 10 years. It's a denim woven with dark indigo and a cream (natural undyed) cotton. This is the back of the fabric which shows more of the cream coloured threads. The combination reads as an olive green, and I used olive green thread to sew it up.

The pattern I used is New Look 6815. As this is more of a shirt/dress pattern I sized up for the gilet as I want to wear it over other things.

My version most closely resembles View C, but I added the pockets from Views A/B as well as the pockets from View D.

I originally cut the length for View C as well, but realised this would hang below my lightweight raincoat if I wore them together, so shortened it by 2 inches and moved the lower pockets up a bit. I omitted the belt.

I didn't make any other alterations and the fit seems to be quite good

Floral bags

We normally use Ikea packing cubes (in navy) - they don't seem to do them any more. But I fancied something prettier so made myself a drawstring shoe bag

And 3 zip front bags. As I didn't have any zips which were long enough I used 2 shorter zips in each one

Navy zip front trousers

This is my first front fly zip!

The pattern is from Burda 03/2011 #141. I made a size 48.

I left out the front darts, altered the back crotch and added cuffs and belt loops. I would use this pattern again for woven fabrics with little/no stretch.