Curses! Curses! Curses! Bloody bag! Actually curses to me for cutting it so fine. Making this bag has taught me a lesson! Some ideas can be saved for another day but on this occasion, I acted on it and nearly missed my train to the airport.
So this is where I start. My friend has invited me to a holiday and we are supposed to meet in the airport to check in. My day progressed well and I was able to do most of the packing the night before. While waiting for my phone to charge, I laid down on bed to read a newspaper and realised how annoying it is not to have a small bag for my passport and other important stuff. That’s when this little voice crept into my head!
MAKE ONE!
I still had an hour so how difficult can it be!
So I started out cutting the leather and lining, finding a suitable zip for it and cutting a length of strap for the bag.
I then progressed to sewing everything! And that is when everything started to fall apart! I began sewing the zip wrong, the leather somehow shrank and didn’t match the lining and to top the mother of all annoyance, I only had 1/2 hour left to get to the train station.
I felt like I was a contestant on the ‘Sewing Bee’ but luckily I persevered and finished it. Everything after that was a blur! I remembered packing my phone cable and charger and somehow managed to clean up the room.
This is what I have to show for that annoying voice in my head!
As I knew I couldn’t put rivets on the bag in time, I used a polyester strap and sewed it on instead! I also wanted a zip as a method of closure and I was surprised sewing it didn’t go horribly wrong!
I eventually got to the train station with minutes to spare but I had learnt a few things from my ordeal! Sometimes just tell the little voice ‘not today’ and obviously, I am not cut out for the Great British Sewing Bee.
Stephen Yong 