Click image to enlarge.

I love this bag! The size is great and the shape is modern with the right amount of funky. The construction of this tote is part of what makes this project such fun.

The Bucket Tote was designed to work with letter-sized sheets of mock croc from Leisure Arts. You can see the bag done in green and black mock croc on the cover of the book. Click the image of the book to enlarge.

When I saw the big single florals of the LakeHouse fabrics, I thought this bag would showcase the flowers nicely by doing all the hard work and allowing me to continue being Lazy. I love how the fabrics work together to create drama.

I quilted each flower panel together with a low-loft poly batting. I cut the quilted panels, centering a large single flower in each. I did the same with black floral for the bottom of the bag. The quilted panels turned out more ‘beefy’ than quilty or puffy. To make the bag, I simply substituted quilted panels for each of the mock croc sheets in the project.

I really like the top stitching as a finishing detail here on the center front of the bag. Here’s a close-up (click the image to enlarge).

I wanted to strengthen the walls of the bag a bit for more ‘stand-up-ability’ so I used Decor Bond fusible interfacing from Pellon.

It’s a really nice medium weight product. I fused the interfacing to the batting which is the wrong side of the cover.

I followed the rest of the instructions in the book, substituting fabric tabs with Velcro for the closure tabs attached at the side seams.

The top edge of the bag looks like it is finished with binding. But, I am Lazy Girl so I found a deceptively easy way to get the look of binding without the time or work. You can see in this photo that the ‘binding’ actually becomes the lining for the bag.

I used the faux leather black handle pair and made tabs from some left over black mock croc scraps from another project. You can easily make fabric tabs from leftovers from the above fabrics.

To finish, be sure to press the bag and don’t be afraid to use steam. Close the bag by matching the Velcro tabs across the center of the bag. This will make the sides of the bag fold in toward the center. I’ve put all of these handy tips in a click-n-print file below.

About Joan:
I like to design purses and bags…what can I say? Have you ever found the perfect purse? Does a single perfect purse exist, or is perfection achieved through a collection of purses that when combined, meet all of our needs? I don’t know.

I guess since I’m still designing them for myself, my collection is incomplete. Or my definition of perfection changes over time. I have discovered that there is a little ‘Lazy’ in most of us. I have fun with my designs and I hope you do, too.

Lazy Girl Designs is a family business for my husband Michael and I. Our silver-haired miniature poodle Honey is busy fulfilling her life goal of being cute, occasionally posing as a cover dog for my creations.

I’ve shared my designs on several TV shows including Kaye’s Quilting Friends, Quilter’s Toolbox and America Quilts Creatively. Look for my episodes on PBS or online at Kaye Wood TV.com and Quilter’s News Network.

Here’s all the product information for today’s feature ’Bucket Tote’. Check quilt shops to purchase the book and fabrics.

Lazy Girl Designs
Bucket Tote
from ‘Bold Bags’ book
10″ x 10″ bottom, 11″ tall
Leisure Arts Item No. 4153 – 3 fabrics

Focal Point Flowers
1/2 yard LH06006 DayZ Deux: Rainbow
I used four flower panels: Pink, Magenta, Yellow & Orange.

Bottom Panel of Tossed Flowers – 1/2 yard LH06007 DayZ Duette: Black

Lining – 1/2 yard LH05028 Teeny Weeny Ticking: Sunset

1 pair Exclusively You black faux leather handles
1-1/2” sew-in black Velcro

You’ll need this information sheet in addition to the book: Bucket Tote Lakehouse Information Sheet

Here are two more bags from the Bold Bags book made using the LakeHouse DayZ fabrics.

Click an image to read more.

The ‘Day Z Dozen’ Projects So Far:
  ‘Ring Around The Flowers’ Quilt
  ‘Daisy Star’ Quilt 
  ‘Retro Aprons’
  ‘Plaid About You’ Quilt
  ‘Vibrant Spring’ Ornaments
  ‘Twinkle’ Quilt
  ’4-Patch Stacked Posie’ Quilt

- Click on ‘Comments’ below to read what others have to say, or leave a comment.
- See all the DayZ fabrics here.
- Are you hopping along with us? Let us know by posting a comment and we will add your store, blog or web to our list!

Here’s Deepika:
I love this bag. I am definitely going to make it again for friends and family. It’s such a cute gift. The moc croc sheets are perfect for busy sewers. I plan to buy more. This bag is also perfect for those who fear zippers. The installation of the zipper is very quick and yields professional results.

The instructions are fabulous! This book is perfect for a beginner! Most of the bags in this book are unlined and are very quick to make. Highly recommend it! I love that the pattern is so quick to make. And it looks adorable.

The faux leather sheets are amazing. They were great to sew on too. It’s my kind of project. I love these sheets because there is no need to line the bag and they are really beefy so the bag has body without any interfacing.
  – Lazy Girl Deepika Prakash

Thanks Deepika! Your bag is fabulous. I love your color combination. 

For you Lazy Girls who have come to love our innovative methods for installing a zipper – I am excited to tell you we have come up with a new method that is used in two of the projects in this book.

You can keep up with Deepika and her 80,000+ sewing enthusiasts at her website. Read Deepika’s project review in total here. 

Image courtesy of Deepika Prakash.

Tags: mock crock, purse pattern

And to top it off, the Lazy Girls over at Leisure Arts have featured Bobbie in the ‘Linking Up’ column in their January newsletter.

From Bobbie:

     ‘Sewing has always been a passion for me. I am so glad I found Joan Hawley’s Lazy Girl Designs web site. What fun and an email list to boot! Joan always has something exciting to share with all of us Lazies.

In August 2006 Joan sent a message to the group with a sneak preview of the upcoming Bold Bags collection for Leisure Arts. The photos took my breath away, how refreshing and new. I rushed to the fabric store to find Leisure Arts. It was such a pleasant surprise to see the beautiful colors and quality of the products. The Bold Bags book was not available yet but I had to have the Mock Crock and findings. Little by little I built my stash waiting for the book.

I finally received the Bold Bag book in late December, it is worth every penny. The presentation and Joan’s directions are easy to follow. Joan and Leisure Arts have teamed up to make a master piece.

I had to make the Cup of Coffee bag first. I love this little café latte. I embellished it with some cute little key charms I had in my stash. I also used the matching shoulder strap with the attached silver rings in the same orange Crock. The pattern called for the small black handles but when I saw the matching shoulder strap handle I couldn’t resist. The orange Mock Crock looks more like a rich coral color to me.

The hand bags are fun to make, just follow Joan’s lazy and easy instructions. I found the Mock Crock incredibly easy and quick to sew. If you have a walking foot for your machine it’s even quicker. I used paper clips to hold the Crock pieces together during sewing rather than pins, they worked very well.

I received many compliments the first time I carried my Cup of Coffee. It’s so darn cute. There is nothing else like it. My next Bold Bag was the Mod Bag made in the deep rich blue Mock Crock. It’s such a sweet, quick pattern.

Joan’s zipper instructions are so easy even a cave man can do the zipper. The small, blue, pre-made handle matched perfectly. I embellished it with a Jaguar charm from my stash. I wish I could find a pair of shoes to match. This little bag is great for a special occasion or you can pack it away inside the Lazy Girl Summer Tote.

I couldn’t stop at just two of these Designer Bags and had enough Maroon Mock Crock to make the Sling bag. I chose the option of a shoulder purse instead of the back pack, which is a very nice feature of this pattern. The Maroon looks more like a Sparkling Sherry color to me. I had a pretty batik fabric in my stash that I was saving for just the right project, it worked perfect.

You don’t have to worry about a zipper with this fun little Sling, a magnetic snap is the bag closure. The style is so fresh and different with plenty of room for goodies. I had just enough left over Crock to make a photo key fob embellishment using one of the free Leisure Arts patterns included with the Mock Croc sheets.

If you don’t have the new Exclusively You, Bold Bags Book with Joan Hawley’s patterns, its well worth the effort to find it. I’m so excited with my purchase. My next project will be the Hippie Bag.
- Cheers and happy Bold Bags, Bobbie in Sunny Cocoa Beach, Florida’

Bobbie, that’s a whole lotta Lazy! Thank you for sharing your creations with us.

Images courtesy of Bobbie Bentley.

Tags: hippie bag, sewing patterns, faux leather

After I picked myself up off of the floor, I decided that I needed to correct Cheryl’s misguided crafting and I aimed my sights squarely on her jugular with a public challenge. It was a simple challenge to create one of my designs.

Cheryl rose to the challenge and posted her conquest on her blog yesterday – Good girl Cheryl, I mean Good Lazy Girl!

Let me set the stage for Cheryl’s frightening transformation to becoming a Lazy Girl:
     It was a dark, cold, rainy night and Cheryl’s spiffy new sewing machine was taunting her from the other room. With the echo of my challenge circling her psyche, Cheryl could not resist the call of the Mod Bag. I had her right where I wanted her….

Here’s Cheryl:
     “OK…so here’s my response to Joan’s challenge. My Mod Bag, complete with a zipper. My only added rule was that I would use only stuff on hand…except for the zipper. I did have to buy one of those. Nearly completed in one evening. I think I need to add a ring with some fun embellishments from one of the handle tabs, but I have to get the embellishments (beads, ribbons, something else to add interest up there in all that black).

Now that I have semi-successfully installed said zipper, I would like to try my hand at another bag. Thanks, Joan. I hope you are very pleased with yourself. (Note: the easiest way to get me to do something is to present the idea that I probably won’t. I like to surprise people almost as much as I like to surprise myself.) I am as wise to your ploy as you are to my weakness, so there.

The next thing I’d like to try is the Runaround bag, but I’ll have to track down the pattern first. I have some very nice fabrics that I got on my last buying spree at Blossom Quiltworks that would make a lovely little bag when I track down the pattern (and another dang zipper).”

I love Cheryl’s embellishments for the Mod Bag. A simple strip of colorful fabric gives the bag balance and adds a new design line.  The fabric and bling surface goodies give the bag dimension.  Cheryl, dare I say you’ve achieved Lazy Girl status in a most stylish way. Your grade: A+.

Cheryl, we await your next update with zipper-baited breath.

Images courtesy of Cheryl Johnson.

Tags: faux leather, handbag pattern

Since my new book Bold Bags will be presented in the Leisure Arts booth (#1107, 1109), I was able to share in the Promenade.  Thanks Wheat and Tink!

There are some really fun creations debuting during the Preview Promenade. Be sure to check back each day through January 10th to see all of the debuts.  Here are some of my favorites:

Knitability’s felted knit textured bags.
Heartstrings’ Scotch Thistle Lace Stole.
Knitting at Knoon’s Shizuka, the ‘good butt’ sweater.
Phoenix Bess’ knit designs.

See my earlier post about the Promenade for more info.

A hearty good luck to my fellow Promenaders at TNNA next week!

Joan

Image courtesy of Leisure Arts.

You can read more about the seven patterns in the book, as well as the line of Exclusively You line of mock croc and faux leather that we used to make the samples in the book, at our website here.

We also had some fun making a few more samples that are shown below.  For some of these samples, we substituted fabric for the mock croc.

We have a few other blog posts about the book here.

Joan

Edit – 6/10/07
There is a printing error in the Tote Bag pattern.
Page 26, #3: The 11 1/2? measurement is wrong. That measurement should be 15?.

Consider bookmarking or printing these great tips for working with the Exclusively You line of mock croc and faux leather, too. 

The book should be here anytime.  I’ll keep you posted.

Joan

Images courtesy of Leisure Arts.

Two of the bags, Mod (shown above) and Cup of Coffee (shown below), use the exact same supplies. Take a look at the project supply list. You can get that here. 

For each of these bags, you need two sheets of croc, one handle from a double handle pair, and your choice of items from a package of Hooks, Rings, and Chains. These two bags use our new zipper installation – which I can’t wait for your to try.

Exclusively You Products: I used the ‘orange’ croc, which looks like a tanned leather version of orange. It’s definately a little more brown, a bit darker than a pumpkin. All of the seams on this project are wrong sides together, with the seam allowances to the outside and it creates a sophisticated, and modern, finish. The grain of the croc is vertical for the Mod bag, and horizontal for the Cup of Joan, I mean Cup of Coffee bag.  That was my personal name for a ‘cup of joe’.  Why must it be ‘Joe’?  He’s not relevant here.

On the Mod bag, I attached a hook to a ring and added it to the ring of the handle.

My vision for the Mod bag was what I can best describe as an inside-out bag. What the heck does that mean? Well, the Mod bag is a zippered pocket with a handle. And it’s pretty darned flat, fron to back, at the top. I envisioned using the rings of the handle to attach a cell phone, keys, decorative fobs, small iPod, etc. Then use the zippered compartment for your Wonder Wallet, and other goodies that need safe-keeping. I thought the Mod bag would be perfect for an on-the-go lifestyle, with all the essentials clipped to the top of the bag and easily accessible.

The Cup of Coffee bag speaks for itself – I love coffee! Perhaps a little too much. Look at the strong fold where the front of the bag becomes the bottom.  I did not use an iron for any pressing on this project.  To achieve that sharp turn, I folded the bag right there, pinched it by hand, then used my sewing machine to stitch right next to the fold, from side seam to side seam, creating a ‘pin tuck’ if you will.  I probably stitched about 1/16th of an inch from the fold.  That gave the bag a sharp ‘edge’ for the front and back at the bottom of the bag.  It also allows the bag to stand-up. I used the same technique for the bottom edge of the Mod bag, however, I did not stitch over the zipper.

I used a poly all-purpose 12″ zipper, in black, from Coats & Clark for each bag.  I like their zippers because I can easily sew across the teeth.

Joan

Rings image courtesy of Leisure Arts.

Tags: faux leather, faux croc, sewing patterns, handbag patterns

First is ‘Crazy for Baby’ from Me and My Sister Designs – good stuff, I like their style.  Next is ‘New Expressions’ from Debbie Mumm, I want that dining room, please!  And finally, our new book ‘Bold Bags’.

We’ve certainly heard a bunch about my book, but head over to Cheryl’s blog for more info on the other two as well as a a very nice commentary from Debbie Mumm regarding her book.

Joan

Images courtesy of Cheryl Johnson and Leisure Arts.

Click and print the cheat sheet: Bold Bags supply list for Exclusively You products

The supply list only includes the Exclusively You faux leather, mock croc, and other items from that product line. You will still need all the other supplies as noted in the book. However, this nice cheat sheet includes a thumbnail picture of each of the seven bags. That makes this document the only place I’ve seen pictures of all seven projects together, outside of the book.

Some product notes: I really like the Elderberry color of the 13″ Double Purse Handle in Smooth Faux Leather.  Leisure Arts offers three pinks and this one, in my humble opinion, matches the best with the current pink color trends in our quilter’s fabrics. I’ve used these handles in two ‘Hippie’ bag samples using fabrics from Blank Quilting and Lakehouse Dry Goods.  We are also showing the orange (I think it’s more tan) mock croc 27″ shoulder strap.

You can see all of the Exclusively You products at Leisure Arts’ website.  I heard from Leisure Arts that my new book was added to their website today, as well as my blog!  I have to say kudos to Leisure Arts for supporting the blog-inization of the internet by offering blog links that support their products.

I really like these hardware offerings. The combination of a split ring (think key ring) and a swivel clasp is a fabulous way to create a ‘fob’ that you can clip to anything. The split ring makes a wonderful finger-grab. Just attach it with a narrow strip of croc or leather used as a loop sticking out from a seam.

And some of my favorite elements of the Exclusively You line are the pins, like the black/white heart shown above.  I used a green/black heart on the Bucket tote, suspended using a chain (shown above) from a handle.  Easy!

Enjoy!

Joan
Lazy Girl Designs

PS: ‘Bold Bags’ was also profiled at Quilter’s Showcase today!

Images courtesy of Leisure Arts.