Whatever is bought is cheaper than a gift

That's a Portugese proverb up there in the title line.  It's true, really, seeing as most of the gifts that you can buy in a big box store now are cheaper and less time consuming than anything we can make by hand, but it's the thought and work you put in that really makes a handmade gift worth giving. 

I've been seeing cross-body bags everywhere.  Everytime I see one I think about how easy it would be to make, and have been meaning to try one out.

Thanks to a wonky work schedule I found myself with a few extra hours of spare time today, and decided to give it a go.  The thing is, this bag isn't much my style, so I thougt about my roomie (forever the saint for putting up with my sewing machine taking over the basement, and always having to step over fabric piles and wayward scissors and that pesky ironing board), who is very much the type to wear a cross-body hobo and decided it was time for a surprise. 

I'll admit that I'm not really in love with the fabric, but I wanted it to be reversible and I needed a pretty good amount of material, so my stash made the choice for me.   I bought this at a fabric warehouse last Christmas.  I thought the greenie-blue and gold shimmer would make a nice Holiday table runner, but for whatever reason I never got around to making one.

This is a home dec weight cotton, so the bag is pretty sturdy, but I wanted it to have a lot of drape, so there is no interfacing.  The closure is a simple tie made of twill tape. 

I actually really like how this turned out, and I'm thinking about maybe making another for myself.  Just as an experiment.  Maybe.  (I do have some Chocolate Lollipop that I've been trying to find a use for...)

I finished the bag just as roomie was getting home and, as always, she yelled "what are you making me?".  She was pretty geeked to find out it really was for her!

I took pictures while I made it, so if the desire for a tutorial ever comes about, I'll post one.