Day of the Dead Bag for my Sister

I left a box of HB with my youngest sister, Alyssa, this summer after the Festival in the Park, and she proved herself to be a professional part time HB saleslady.  I offered to pay her for her work, but she requested a custom bag and wallet (and I think I gave her some other stuff at the time as well)!  She came to visit in August and requested a bag made with some Day of the Dead fabric I have.  I didn't have very much of it, and it's mostly off white.  Off white doesn't do too well in cotton bag land.  It gets wicked dirty.  So I bought some black suede cloth at JoAnn's to use as a base for the bag.



I appliquéd some dead people on it, and it turned out pretty darn awesome.







Pardon the blurriness of this inside shot, but I am so dang proud of that inset zipper pocket.  This is the prettiest one I've ever made.  Truth:  I've only made a few.  The one on my laptop bag is super ugly.  I wouldn't have even made one, but those pockets were specifically requested.



I wasn't sure how the suede cloth would hold up to wallet making.  It's not supposed to be ironed, which sucks when you want shit to look cleanly made.  I am technically a known follower of rules.  I don't like dealing with the consequences, but in this case the consequences would be that I ruined an 8 inch square of fabric that I bought on sale.  It was a risk I was willing to take.  So I ironed it on a fairly low heat setting with a piece of regular cotton on top for protection.  I think it shrunk a smidge, but it worked out so well I ended up making a couple more of these babies immediately afterwards.



I love that surprise lady inside!  Subsequent wallets made with this stuff did not have the inside lady so my sister can still feel special.

Now I just need to find the right packaging to get this mailed out before she goes crazy and shows up demanding her bag.