A while ago, I sewed some project bags for my knitting. I’ve got them all in use, so I dug out my quilting scraps to sew some more. I started with this free pattern tutorial from Very Shannon. It’s an easy project and results in a very nice bag.

Here are some of mine—well, some are mine, but (spoiler alert) I have Christmas presents done for my knitting friends, too:

I made a simple change early on with this pattern: I created a gap in one side seam of the outer bag, then stitched around the edges. This makes a little finished slit for the ribbon to be fed into the casing. Because I’m using grossgrain ribbon, which is stiffer than twill tape, I made the casing at least an 1/8″ wider than the ribbon so it can stay flat in the casing.

This one I cut a little deeper in an effort to get the cat entirely on the side. I didn’t quite make it, which is because I eyeballed it instead of measuring it. One friend has a cat and I thought she might like this design. I also interfaced only the bottom of the outside of the bag, in the hope that the top would be less stiff and gather more nicely. I think it does.

I like this bag, but I have ideas of my own and am working on my own design. Stay tuned!