The Senna Tote by LBG Studio is a pattern I've been drooling over for ages now. I finally bought it in late 2014 during a sale and couldn't wait to make one of my own. I really enjoy sewing bags, but for me it's usually more time consuming than clothing. It's not that the technical details are tricky or anything, but there are usually more pieces to cut out (out of multiple fabrics AND interfacings) and when it comes down to it, that all just takes time. And if there's one thing I seem to be short on these days it's time.
This weekend I'm going to New York to visit with good friends and go to their Theater People live podcast which I'm super excited about. It's just for a night, but this will be the first time in ages that I'll be traveling alone. I don't want to bring a bulky suitcase with me on the train, so I decided it was time to finally whip up one of these totes.
The pattern goes together relatively quickly. My favorite thing is that there are actual pattern pieces and not just measurements for each piece. I know that some people prefer to just be able to cut everything out with a rotary cutter, and sometimes I would agree, but most of the time I like to be able to lay out the pattern pieces on fabrics from my stash to see what will work or what I will have enough yardage of to use. It's much easier for me to visualize with pattern pieces than it is with measurements so I was really pleased to find a printable pattern.
For the bottom and straps I used a winter white upholstery fabric with a neat waffle texture from my stash. It's probably inadvisable to use white for the BOTTOM of a bag and it will most likely be filthy immediately, but I just loved how it looked so I went for it. Maybe a nice coat of scotch guard will help? Anyway, the main fabric is a floral drapery fabric that I only had one yard of which has been sitting in my stash begging to become a bag for years now. The greens seemed to go well with the cotton + steel fabric I got from Imagine Gnats (*affiliate link) so I used it for the lining and inner pockets. I couldn't be more happy with how the tote came together. Have you made a Senna Tote yet? I know I'll make at least one more for myself for sure.
