Geometric Bucket Bag

Check out my new bag.

I wanted a cinch-top, bucket bag that wasn't too big. I already have a huge shopper/tote/diaper bag, so something smaller was a high priority. To find the size that I wanted I got my wallet, keys, and a few other essentials and put them in a pile. Turns out that my pile fit pretty well on a bread plate.... and that's exactly what I used to draw the bottom piece for my bag. After that I just added sides and played around until I liked how tall it was.

This was the first time that I worked with grommets and I have to admit that I was scared Out Of My Mind to use them. I procrastinated on finishing this and even debated Not finishing because of how apprehensive I was about cutting holes in my canvas. I practiced on some scrap a few times to make sure I knew what I was doing. In reality, I didn't have anything to worry about. The grommets went in perfectly and took about 20 minutes. Silly me! Live and learn. :) (FYI - I used a hammer-set grommet kit from the craft store)

I love little details and there are three on this bag that I am very proud of. The first is that I made the cord out of scrap black linen (from my new skirt). Next, I cut squares from the design and used them for the cinch part (whatever that thing is called). Lol, that is where I fit in some hand stitching. I whip-stitched around the vertical edges and then straight stitched close to the edge, just to make sure it would be secure. Lastly I made a removable wrist strap and put a tab on the backside of the purse to attach it.

I'm not really finished with this bag but I'm going to count it as finished anyway. I am planning on adding 4 more grommets around the top but I need to make a trip to the store to pick them up. The other thing that I omitted was putting self-fabric cording around the bottom. I knew from the start that it would look better that way but for whatever reason, I didn't do it. I'll need to take the bag apart from the inside/bottom lining to do that.

Oh, I almost forgot. The bag is lined with a cute yellow floral. Here are the fabrics that I started with:

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