My Gussets Aren't Rubbish

I made a reusable grocery bag using this tutorial, with some modifications.

The first was to make the bag a bit smaller across, since I feared it would be a bit floppy and unwieldy in the full size. I also couldn't understand the instructions for lining up dots so that my gusset (the strip of fabric that attaches to the front and back pieces so that it has a flattish bottom) didn't become twisted and "rubbish" but my gussets turned out perfectly anyway since I took it slow and smoothed the fabric compulsively. For me, the warning was enough to avoid the problem, I guess. (I increased the width of the gusset slightly, too.) I did not have, nor did I want to purchase, fusible fleece to make the padded handles, but I was able to chop into a pair of black fleece pants that were destined for the Goodwill pile and make super-comfy handle lining with it. I made the bag itself from leftover fabric from the blue clown pants and a surplus dark blue sheet. Total cost of materials: pennies for the thread.



I am pleased with how it turned out. I like the fact that it is lined; this makes it look more finished and makes the bag stronger.



Testing in the kitchen, I found I could put a bunch of cans, bottles, and generally heavy stuff into it without problem (and the padded handles come into their own with the weight). I think this style of bag is well-suited for farmers market trips, drug store trips, and other non-grocery usage also. Obviously it also has a general "tote bag" thing going, except for the lack of a zipper or other top enclosure.

I would (will) make more bags of this type, though I think for large-scale grocery shopping, I will create some simpler bags that are faster to put together - that don't have the lining (which doubles the work of sewing the body of the bag), for instance. I inherited from Robert a set of boring-looking but sturdy flannel sheets that would make a less attractive but utilitarian group of plain bags.

But not this week. I promised Robert that with the successful completion of this bag that I would pack up my sewing room today so we have more room to get the various packed boxes into it. The impending move is starting to feel very real to me now that all my kitchen stuff is boxed away, pictures are starting to come off the walls, etc.

Last night, I was so inspired by the Alice content on Facebook that I wanted to read some of it last night before bed, but realized that my Annotated Alice was already packed. (And since Robert was going to sleep in the same room as my computer, looking it up online, a much inferior substitute, was also a no-go.) But Robert came through with two old, slim volumes from, I believe, his grandfather's childhood.

Many of my favorites of the John Tenniel drawings are the Cheshire Cat ones, and I always grin myself when I see the picture that accompanies this amusing argument among the executioner, the King, and the Queen:



"When she [Alice] got back to the Cheshire Cat, she was surprised to find quite a large crowd collected round it: there was a dispute going on between the executioner, the King, and the Queen, who were all talking at once, while all the rest were quite silent, and looked very uncomfortable.

The moment Alice appeared, she was appealed to by all three to settle the question, and they repeated their arguments to her, though, as they all spoke at once, she found it very hard indeed to make out exactly what they said.

The executioner's argument was, that you couldn't cut off a head unless there was a body to cut it off from: that he had never had to do such a thing before, and he wasn't going to begin at his time of life.

The King's argument was, that anything that had a head could be beheaded, and that you weren't to talk nonsense.

The Queen's argument was, that if something wasn't done about it in less than no time she'd have everybody executed, all round. (It was this last remark that had made the whole party look so grave and anxious.)"

I absolutely love the Cat, but as an adult with a good sense of impossible job situations, I do empathize with the poor executioner in this scene.