Nautical Beach Bag

(All photos were taken with my Nikon D3200.  Please bear with me as I learn to use the new camera and all its awesome features.  Thanks!)

When I found out my mom was going to Jamaica, I figured she needed a great beach bag to take with her.  And I was looking for a really great excuse to duplicate a bag I had fallen in love with on Pinterest.

I had found this bag on Pinterest a really long time ago, and thought it was the cutest bag I’d seen in a while!  I couldn’t wait to get started on it and was so anxious to see the finished product.

I followed Jessica’s instructions pretty much to the ‘T’ when making this bag.  The only thing I didn’t do was sew the bottom of the bag on first (something Jessica said she wished she hadn’t done because it made it more difficult than it should have been).  I sewed the sides of the bag onto the front panel first, then sewed the bottom panel on, and finally sewed the back panel to the sides and bottom.  It made things so much easier!

Another thing I did was hand stitch the whale applique with a pick stitch so that it was well attached to the front panel.  I found that after ironing the applique and letting it sit for a while, it started to come up off my outer fabric.  Not good!  Hand stitching was the best solution to my problem and I love the handmade look that came out of it.

One thing I wish I had done was use a very thin layer of interfacing.  I thought it would be fine to not have it because I love being able to fold my bags and put them away (for storage) but I’m now wishing this bag could stand up a little bit better on its own.

Want instructions on how to make this adorable nautical beach bag?  I honestly can’t write them out better than Jessica did, so if you want to make this bag you should visit SYTYC.

If you like the fabric I bought for this project and are wondering where it is from, you can find it at fabric.com.

:: Outer Fabric: Premier Prints Indoor/Outdoor Vertical Stripe Grey
:: Whale Applique: All Hands on Deck Anchors Navy
:: Inside Fabric: Any Cotton Print Navy (I purchased mine at Joann’s so I could color match with the anchor fabric)

What do you think of my throwback to Summer?  Are you missing the warm weather or are you loving the cool Fall weather that has finally rolled around?