Just the other night I finished the messenger bag from Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation. I altered the pattern a fair amount so that it doesn’t really look much like the bag in the picture (it was made from the pattern for the orange bag). I wanted the bag to be able to hold something the size of a magazine so I made the bag taller. The pattern called for a zipper – I knew I would never actually use the zipper so I made a flap.

The Boy was fabulous enough to take a bunch of photos as I was close to finishing. I’ve been working on this bag forever. And as I was finishing the bag I was hating it! It was so big and floppy and gross. I hadn’t done a felt swatch (or ever felted before) so I couldn’t imagine what it would look like in the end.

It was around 10:30pm when I finished sewing up the sides. I hated the bag so much at that moment that I decided I had to felt it right then to see if it would help.
I ran it in my washing machine in a zipped up pillow cover. I put it through the pre-wash cycle three times (looking at it between each one) and in the end – I love the bag! It really shaped up. It’s just the perfect size, the edges really squared off and the stitches really disappeared in the felting. I couldn’t be happier with it. I’ve received a bunch of complements at work and I’ve worn it everyday.