Sewing With Kids - Messenger Bags

My 6 year old LOVES to sew, but Emily, who is 11, isn't into it.  But I wanted to sew something with each of them this summer, so I gave her lots of options of things she could make.  She choose a messenger bag.  She even pestered me about it when we didn't get started on it right away.

 But procrastination turned out to be a good thing.  Our friends came to visit and Emily and her friend made matching messenger bags together.  They did really well.  They are both perfectionists, so even the smallest of mistakes were a concern, but I ended up making the big mistake - the only one that required a seam ripper.

Emily picked out the plaid corduroy at Hancock's and the girls picked out some bright green fabric I had on hand as lining.  We used this simple and straight forward tutorial.  The girls sewed and ironed everything except for the side seams (where 8 layers of shifting fabric proved difficult) and attaching the straps onto the bag (it was challenging for me with at least 12 layers of fabric to sew through).

After a few afternoons of work, they took their bags on a bike ride to the library.  The bags turned out so cute that I think I might have to make one for myself!  Good Job Girls!