I’ve been wanting to make a bag for a while, and not just a simple boxy tote bag for Halloween (though that’s on my list, too).  And then my friends at the Sewing Summit did a whole series on Travel Handmade, and I knew I had to show up in Salt Lake City with at least one handmade item.

I thought a nice-sized carry-on bag would be just the ticket, and decided to make the Detour Diaper Bag.  I chose a bright teal canvas (on sale this week!) for the main bag body, Kona Aqua for the lining, and a bright raspberry print (Flora & Fauna by Patty Young for Michael Miller) for the accent panel.  All told, I thought it was a relatively easy pattern, and while my execution wasn’t exactly flawless, I’m happy with how it turned out.

The size of the bag would most accurately be described as a sort of medium-sized diaper bag, or a fairly generous purse/tote.  A little bit too big for everyday errands, perhaps, but plenty of room if you need to lug around some diapers and your hexie-making box (heh).

A few thoughts on the pattern… Experienced bag-makers might find some of this to be obvious or intuitive, but several of the directions tripped me up a little bit. While the bag is perfectly well-constructed, I did not find the directions to be as clear as I would have liked.

First, I chose to make the optional zipper pocket, which has a separate set of directions. A few tricks with that.

1. She instructs you to draw a rectangle the size of your zipper – it should really be just larger than the zipper teeth themselves, not the entire zipper. If you make it too big, actually attaching the zipper is very tricky. So I learned.
2. Neither the written directions nor the photos make it at all clear how to line up the pocket piece with the lining piece. For the record, it should be right sides together. The drawn-on rectangle should be on the wrong side, or in my case, on the interfacing.

The bag did go together relatively easily, overall. Again, a few notes:

1. My duck cloth was not terribly stiff, so I added some heavyweight fusible interfacing to it on the bag body and bottom pieces. I did not add it to the pocket pieces or the straps, though in hindsight I wish I had put it on the straps. I also added interfacing to the lining side of the closure tab, where the magnetic clasp would be.
2. I added some topstitching, which she doesn’t specify, but I think makes the bag look a bit more finished. I topstitched the upper edge of the front and back pockets, as well as the closure tab and the top of the bag itself at the very end, after the lining was closed up and pushed back down into the bag.
   
3. I included the velcro closure for the back pocket, which I added before sewing the back pocket pieces together.
4. When you are putting the lining and bag body together, I again found her instructions unclear about which direction the fabrics should be facing. I looked back onto other bags I’d made, and again, it should be right sides together.
5. Beware, when sewing the lining and bag body, that you don’t catch the pocket piece in the seam. I did, and now it hangs kinda funny. Not disastrous, but mildly annoying.
6. I folded the handles in half and partially sewed them together, similar to the ones in this tutorial, to give them a little more stability. I like it, but again, I wish I had also added some interfacing to the straps.
   
7. I added a small loop to the bag lining. My key ring has a carabiner clip on it, so this way the keys will stay put instead of getting lost at the bottom of the bag.
   

I think that’s about it! Again, I think it was a pretty good pattern for a first-time bagmaker, not a lot of difficult techniques. I definitely recommend it!