DIY Satchel

Am I ever excited to share the latest DIY project: a satchel! My

major goal for 2015 - and the rest of my life - is to become more

self-sufficient. I'm not going to lie, at times it can seem overwhelming

and as if I'm not getting anywhere. But like the tortoise won the race,

slow and steady is the way to go! I had this thick wool fabric from an

old poncho I never wore and I've been trying to think of ways to use

it. The colours of the fabric remind me of Peruvian bags, so I went

in that direction. The satchel is pretty basic, but I love the fact that

my hands made it. Never doubt yourself! 

- Silly me, I forgot to picture the thread! I used white thread for

everything except the flap, for which I used a light purple. Colours

were chosen based on the colour of my fabric. I also used a thicker

thread, I like to do this when working with wool, which is heavier. 

- Cut fabric into a long rectangle. The length and width depends

on the size you would your satchel to be. 

- Along the length of fabric fold the sides inwards. How wide you

would like your satchel is up to you. Mine is 8 inches wide. Try to

make this as straight as possible. Tip: ironing the sides keeps them

in place and makes it much easier to work with. 

- Bring the bottom of your fabric up almost to the top. Leave fabric

at the top for your flap. Again, the length (or depth) of the satchel

is up to you. Mine is 11 inches. 

- Outside view of satchel-to-be. Sew back and front together, this 

is done by pulling the satchel inside out and sewing along the

outer sides. 

- The striped fabric made sewing in straight lines easy, this might

be more difficult to accomplish without stripes. 

- For the strap I used a wool fabric belt that came with a sweater.

Anything that is long and strong enough will work though - be

creative! I folded the belt in half and sewed that to each side of

the satchel. 

And that's it!