My Skulls & Argyle Messenger Bag features a pattern that was laboriously hand stamped by yours truly. And I do mean laboriously.
For this pattern I decided not to get hung up on perfection. I eyeballed it, which is why the argyle is a little wonky. I decided that it gives it charm. I quite like it. I laid the skulls out randomly. When I finished printing, the skulls weren't popping as much as I wanted them to, so I filled in each of them by hand with a paint brush.
Laboriously.
I will not be doing that a second time. I don't even want to know how long that took me, but I know I got through several episodes of Supernatural.
The exterior fabric is navy cotton duck canvas. I used Lumiere by Jacquard fabric paint in Crimson and Metallic Silver for the argyle pattern, and Neo Opaque by Jacquard in White for the skulls. My stamps were made from Speedball Speedy Carve.
I made up the sewing pattern myself. The bag measures 14 inches tall, 14 inches wide at the bottom and 12.5 inches at the top. And it's 4 inches deep, so there's tons of room inside. The front pocket is split in two, handy for cellphones and keys, but wide enough to fit a book.
The lining fabric is white cotton, and has large interior pockets. This was probably a mistake. I think I'll do a zip or patch pocket next time I make a bag like this.
The strap is very long, so I can wear it like a messenger bag, and is attached to the exterior with a box stitch.
While this one is for me, I do plan on making a version to sell in my Etsy shop.
