It's In the Bag Blog Hop with Island Batik and ByAnnie.com

Hello!  Welcome to my day for the Island Batik and ByAnnie.com It's in the Bag blog hop. This is the bag I made.  It's the Out and About Knapsack.  Isn't it adorable?

Disclaimer:  The products used in this project were given to me by Island Batik and industry partners.

For this month's Island Batik Ambassador challenge, each one of the ambassador's picked a ByAnnie.com bag pattern that we wanted to make.  I've been wanting to make the Out and About bag for a while, so I knew right away which one to choose.

The fabric for our bags was chosen for us and everything was sent bundled together in our Ambassador box as a kit.

The fabrics for my bag are part of the new Urbanization collection by Island Batik.  Aren't they fabby?  I love the purples and blues together.

I'll admit I was a little intimidated when I first looked the pattern over.  It's 16 pages long!  But, the instructions are given in well written steps with little check boxes for each step.  Checking the boxes as I went along helped me to feel like I was accomplishing something during every sewing session.  There is also a sheet of squares to copy and cut out to mark all of your pattern pieces.  I copied my squares onto a sticky paper which made it so easy to mark and remark my pieces as I sewed along.

I used this new spool of purple Aurifil thread and Schmetz needles to sew my project.  It matches the fabrics perfectly.  

This bag has a multitude of pockets.  Some have zippers and some have fold over elastic binding (the blue stuff in this photo).  I watched the add on videos for the Out and About bag on the ByAnnie.com site before sewing each step of my bag.  They were so helpful.  

Sunrise is my newest quilting buddy.  He really enjoyed making this bag.  The inside layer between the outer fabric and the lining fabric is made from Soft and Stable.  This stuff is awesome!  It gives the bag amazing stability and body.

Another essential notion for making the Out and About bag is Clover Wonder Clips.  You could use pins, but the clips were super helpful for holding multiple layers of fabric together.

Here's a photo of the back of the bag sewn together, padded straps, carry handle, and all.

Sunrise got tired and enjoyed using it for a nap. Cuteness alert!

At this point, the bag is almost finished.  The straps are clipped together to keep them away from the final seams.

The Out and About bag is complete!  Front view.

Back view.

The front compartment inside.  See the mesh pocket and the fold over elastic pockets?

I sewed the optional hidden pocket in between the front and back compartments.  It's the perfect size for my phone or keys.

The inside of the large compartment features another full length zipper pocket with a two compartment mesh pocket in front of it.

The opposite side of the large compartment features a big mesh pocket.

Inside the large compartment. There's so many pockets!  Ultra organization.  I love that.

The straps are adjustable for a custom fit.

Side view.

                               All dressed up with a feather boa.  Ready to go Out and About!

Be sure to hop on over the the Island Batik Blog to enter a fabric bundle giveaway and for links to all the ambassador blogs on the hop.

Be creative ~ Sew something beautiful today.

Jennifer Thomas

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