Tokyo Tie Bag

So my mom bought herself a Bernina sewing machine. Although she's had it for, oh, over a year I think, she's been scared to use it because of all the buttons and computer-y gizmos on it. Being the nice daughter I am, I offered to adopt it for a while and figure it out for her.

I figured the best way to do that was to jump in and make something, so I picked a quick and easy project: the "Tokyo Tie Bag" from Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop. The black, tropical print fabric is from another old skirt I had in my refashioning pile, and mom gave me yards and yards of the green stuff. She told me to just donate it to the thrift shop if I didn't want it. Not want it? Heck, I think it's great! We both do!

As I was drawing up the pattern, I thought it looked mighty small. That seems to be a trend lately, as I've made a few tiny bags from Bend the Rules Sewing as well. Enlarging the pattern would have meant using different fabric, though, and I had my heart set on that combination, so I pressed forward.

The bag is super easy to make. I mean, it isn't just "not hard," it's ridiculously simple. And I think it looks pretty cool for something that only took ten minutes to knock out. It's just so darn little. I'm going to figure out a better size for the next one, so I can fit my wallet AND my sunglasses into it at the same time. Once I do, I'll report back with the specs. I'm thinking it would be a good subject for a tutorial too, because I know there are some beginners following this blog. And here it is!