My first ever Loom Bag

I am not even sure anything such as a loom bag exists but I thought I needed one. The loom has parts and I travel a lot to visit our grandaughters. They are into beading and I bought , or rather, Santa brought, each of them a small bead loom and lots of beads. So bringing my loom when we visit will be lots of fun. And a travelling loom certainly needs a special bag! 

The fabric above all but kidnapped me and dragged me out of the store. I was thinking a bag for myself at first. And then Van Gogh's Starry Night fabric knockoff hung on the closet door in the studio for quite a while, other things just getting in the way. But "Starry Night" is one of my favorite paintings so I let it hang and I enjoy looking at it. Then my loom arrived at Christmas and it was kismet. 

I've worked up measurements and details in my trusty notebook.  I really couldn't find anything in retail patterns that came close to what this loom bag required. There are lots of small parts that could get lost and they will have their pockets. Then there are beads, scissors, special threads, etc. that need storage as well. So I took some graph paper and taped it together so I had the two insides of the bag, the front and back. I laid my loom on it in "shut down" mode and took advantage of the negative space to place the pockets on the lining. Here are my two patterns, sort of:

So I worked out the layout of the "goodies" and these will be in pockets placed on the lining, some with zips, some not. My lining fabric, like the bag fabric, is 100% quilting cotton and I found it a week ago. It's perfect! It is a stylized version of Monet's Iris Garden. My two favorite artists honored in one bag! The lining colors are lighter than the outer bag which is what I like inside a bag, makes things easier to find. The outside of the bag will have a faux black leather gusset on the bottom and maybe black leather facings on the zippered pockets. Not sure yet and I am still working out those details. I will probably do the "Koos Zipper" which you can find in the tutorials as it is so strong. Zippers will go up the sides and meet at the top in the middle so the bag opens up wide for access. It's odd, now that I see my schematic in print in front of me as I write, I am getting all sorts of other ideas as well for storage. So this design will probably grow into something else by the time the lining is complete. Here is the lining fabric:

Pardon the pre-pressed condition.  The Starry Night fabric has been cut out and fused to fusible fleece. In between the fashion fabrics/fleece and the lining will be "boards" of either Peltex or foam core. The lining fabric will probably be fused with some inexpensive weft insertion. I hate baggy saggy linings. The Peltex boards will be separate and added in at the very end. The fantasy of being able to sew Peltex is one I have given up on. What I do now is insert it in between, almost free floating. The gussets will just be soft with fusible fleece. I am excited about this project and it has brought my mojo back.  It's been fun working up the design. Today is the first day I feel normal. Bye bye Bug! Things are working out with hubby slowly but surely and all seems positive.

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This pale pink cabled sweater? If you have seen the darling hat Rhonda of  Rhonda's Creative Life   made you will know what I am making. It is just the cutest, warmest hat, perfect for our climate. See it here. If you are not familiar with Rhonda's amazing creativity, pattern designing skills and generosity, you are missing out on one of the best bloggers out there. Check it out!

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I haven't forgotten the felted jacket. I just haven't looked human enough for pics and I know you want to see it on. They will come. I did wear it all day the other day and received quite a few compliments. I discovered the button I considered really is a necessity so will put one on before I get the pics done. Your patience is appreciated ....Bunny