Paisley “Pack”

I apologize for not posting any blog last week. It is a difficult time of year for my family and me. My sister passed eight years ago on April 8th, my birthday is April 10th, and my daughter, Brianna’s birthday, is April 11th. It would have been her 20th birthday. I try my best to stay busy and celebrate how I know my sister and Brianna want me to. Honestly, it is a struggle. I managed to sew all day on the tenth, my “happy” zone, at least as happy as I get these days. I did get a new project completed, a purse/bag to carry a portable oxygen concentrator.

I did this project with my friend in mind. She recently found out she needs to have oxygen and was using a rather generic black bag to lug it around. I knew I couldn’t let her not be “fashionable” and decided to look for a pattern for a purse/backpack that I could convert into her much-needed upgrade. Lucky for me, I found a pattern called “Malibu Sling” by Pink Sand Beach Designs on the Missouri Star Quilt Company website. This bag can be used over the shoulder, like a purse, or converted into a backpack! Cool, right? I tried to find a pattern that would be simple, and that would be relatively easy to alter. Alter, you ask? To prevent the concentrator from overheating, I knew I would need to incorporate mesh into the bag.

Since purple is her favorite color, I went through my stash and found a cool paisley (my ode to her most loved musician, Prince) and another shade of purple fabric that went well with the paisley. I ordered a purple flower fabric for the lining, a light purple with silver feathering, and of course, purple mesh. I also needed fusible fleece, Pellon decorbond (fusible stabilizer), Pellon peltex (firm fusible stabilizer), and the purse hardware (snaps/clips/d-rings) to complete the bag.

The things I needed to order came rather quickly, except for the hardware; that was on backorder. So, I waited. I cut all the fabric to the correct sizes and brainstormed how and where to add the mesh. I tried to mimic the generic bag, meaning I placed the mesh in the same areas. Doing this did help make the process a little easier until it came to the lining. I knew I would have a hard time getting it to line up with the bag’s exterior portion. I opted to make 2/3 of the lining sides mesh and the top 1/3 the purple flower fabric. Once I had the mesh and fabric sewn together and cut to the appropriate shapes, it came together like a charm!

There are a few great parts to this project:

I have enough stabilizers and an extra set of hardware (because I have no patience and ordered another set from another website) to make myself a bag/purse. I’ve been waiting for the right project to utilize some seriously awesome cat fabric, which is so very me!
Most importantly, I have a delighted and appreciative friend that LOVES her fashionable, “I’m proud to carry” & “I want to carry” portable oxygen concentrator bag.