The 10 minute Bag. Or what to do with a drawer full of scarves.
My instructions prior to the wedding in too-hot-to-handle TN were to buy a bridesmaid-y type brown dress. The experience was surprisingly painless and after a little research, I found what I needed right away. The shoes were some I had, then forgot, then bought. I needed a little bag to carry around Very Important Things. So. Backtrack a bit.
I have drawers full of scarves. Some silk. Some cotton. All manner of blend... I've bought them all used-- some very, some very little. Lots of pinks, blues, and greens. A few earth tones. Some creamy bits. I like them so much, but I rarely (never) use them. My hair is slippery and won't keep them in. My waist is big and need not be cinched. So they sit in a drawer all jumbled up I guiltily keep buying them. So. When I got my free issue of Blueprint in the mail I was excited to see some scarf-purse type contraptions. For two whole days I wrestled with handles, bangles and slippery bits trying to put something together. And the problem? They looked fantastic as long as nothing was in them. Once I dropped so much as a tube of chapstick in it, the bottom fell a good six inches and it looked as though I was dragging a sleeping kitten around.
With ten minutes left to get something together I did this:
- cut two pieces of duck cloth
- sewed them together pinching the corners to square them off (great tutorials for this sort of thing on Craftster)
- whipped some bias tape around the top and sewed a pleat at either seam
AND (here's the kicker)
- sewed in two button holes-- one under each pleat on either seam. Tied a scarf through. Ta-Da.
Now, I didn't have time to line it or do any kind of closure. The great thing is, I can still do all that and change the scarves around at will. (Blair, I promise it wasn't this wrinkly for the day. This is its cram it in my carry-on look.) I didn't end up carrying around any sort of makeup in it-- just my camera, masking tape, and some bandaids. You know, like a good bridesmaid.
