The cat's on the bag (yes, I said that correctly)

My boyfriend and I decided to do Christmas early, and he got me a sewing machine!!!

For my first big project, I made a small backpack.

I traced the cat design from a vintage embroidery transfer I saw on the internet somewhere (I seem to have lost the Url…) and embroidered it by hand. I sewed six buttonholes around the top of the bag and used a piece of braided yarn as a drawstring. This may not be the sturdiest option, but I do like the pop of color

 I made the pocket mainly for holding pens and pencils. It kind of looks like the cat is standing on the other side of a glass door, with the pocket flap being the awning. I didn’t plan it this way, but I think it’s cute ^^

What I learned:

Plan ahead. Sewing on pockets and straps is much easier to do before you join the two halves of the bag together.

Measure twice. Originally I was going to have a floral material as an inner lining. It turned out great…except it was too small. I decided the lining wasn’t necessary and am currently using it as a yarn bag.

Remember to backstitch. Backstitching is when you sew forward, in reverse, then forward again. Doing this at the beginning and end of each seam makes it  more secure. I didn’t always remember to do this, but I will try to remember in the future.

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