stash bags

As I was making the quilt for my best friend’s wedding, I wanted to use some of the extra fabric for her birthday gift. She rarely carries a purse and likes little cases or bags to stash her stuff in and throw in her car. When I saw the pattern for these little bags (appropriately called “Stash and Dash” from Amy Butler) I couldn’t resist.

The pattern comes with three sizes: toiletry (10” wide x 7” tall), make-up bag (8 1/4" x 6"), and coin purse (6 1/2" x 4 1/4"), but I decided to make the smaller two since I wanted to get these finished and sent to her prior to seeing her for the wedding. They went together really quickly. There are three main sections on each bag – the top band, bottom outside, and inside lining. I used the same fabric for the inside and bottom outside of each bag and liked the contrast of the other two fabrics for the top bands. Attaching the zipper to the two layers was a little tricky on the first go since I haven’t had enough practice with zippers in general, but the rest of the construction is mainly seams and top stitching. I was happy with how they finished and I appreciated the easy practice on installing zippers. This was a good quick project to keep in mind for any times I need to put together something for a friend or want to send a gift bag of some sort (can we say Christmas presents, anyone?).