This was possibly the scariest thing I've done in a while !
It's not every day you take to your own embroidery with a staple gun, risking wonkiness & ruin !!*
​

. . . but then it's not every day you really need to know whether or not what you've decide to do will work.
& even tho the 1st one worked I still procrastinated about doing the 2nd one simply because I was worried that the 1st one had somehow only worked by sheer good luck . . . 
​

. . . turns out the 2nd one worked too.

There were 3 things I was evaluating.
Would I be able to evenly tension the fabric to get the lines lying taut, could i get 'nice' corners & which thickness frame would I prefer for this series

I am happy to report that the answer to the 2 technical questions is yes & yes
. . . I am undecided about which thickness I prefer.

We used to sew a lot when we were kids, it was one of our school subjects in 'home ec'.
If I remember correctly it was the other half of the year opposite cooking.

​Our mother was a great sewer & our eldest sister really excelled at garment making.
Me, well I enjoyed sewing & was technically very proficient but really couldn't have given a rat's-razoo about what I was wearing so only did what I had to do to pass the assessments.
Yep, I'm one of those kids who submitted the same garment 2 years in a row to 2 different teachers.
It was nice. It was a green wrap-around skirt with a buttonhole in the waist band for the tie & top stitching . . . got A+ for it both times actually.

Anyway, for most of my adult life I have only intermittently sewn & even then not garments.
Probably as a result of being bombarded on social media by loads of beautiful creations people are making for themselves I decide I want to sew again only THIS time I want to sew garments that I know will fit me.
As much as I really want to support indie pattern designers the reality is I can't afford to buy patterns & I know I have the capabilities to learn how to draft pattens myself, for myself.

Enter Cal Patch & creativebug.
​I have been enrolled with creativebug for 2 years & have renewed for a 3rd year.
​Honestly, the classes I've been taking in the last 6 month since I renewed are worth the subscription alone.
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Of course I've researched it to the nth degree (that's just me) & watched the classes about a gazillion times, as I did with learning the Alabama Chanin way I gathered all my supplies together & dedicated a weekend to learning how to draft a master pattern for a dress, based on MY measurements (now I actually know what being 'short-waisted' means), cut out & sewed a muslin then went on to modify the base pattern, cut out & sew a hoodie.

And I know for a fact, when I first tried the muslin on & later the hoodie, the words I uttered were
'#@*! me this really works'
​. . . then I think I probably danced around wearing them for a ridiculously long time.

Same rules apply as with everything else we learn:
you have nothing to loose
use the resources you have available, they ARE good enough
watch, listen, learn (repeat)
be patient
take your time
& whatever else measure, measure & measure again before you cut that fabric !

Last Sunday I was presented with a completely worn out cotton work shirt & a pair of no longer wearable cotton 3/4 length cargo shorts to see if I might want to "cut off the buttons or anything" before they got transferred to the ragbag in the garage.
Honestly, there really was nothing left of the shirt & I could only salvage the buttons.
The shorts were pretty well rags too but I thought the pockets on the legs would make good starting points for project bags.
In truth the fabric on the other side of the leg is pretty thin but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained as the saying goes & the pants were throw-aways anyway. 

This is a project I've been wanting to do for ages, in fact I've been saving jeans we no longer wear for this very purpose.
Here's a photo tutorial & a brief description of the process I went through.

I wanted to use the part of the shorts with the pocket on it because I wanted to be able to use the pocket as part of the bag so I cut the bottom hem off & the leg as high up as possible.
As I had decided I wanted the existing pocket to be in the middle on one side of my project bag I centred the pocket then used the original side seam to square the top & bottom edges. 
This is necessary as the leg of these shorts is tapered.

I sewed the leg together at the lower edge to make the bottom of the bag & then 'boxed the bottom' so that the bag would have a base to sit on.
The technique of 'boxing the base' is well explained in Kristin Link's 'Bag Making Basics' which is a free mini class on Craftsy.

I hemmed & sewed a casing at the top edge to create a space for a drawstring closure.
I hand sewed the section over the pocket so I didn't stitch the pocket closed !
​I was so chuffed that I realised I needed to do this . . . 

. . .  however, I forgot to leave an opening in the casing at the top of the bag for the drawstring to exit so had to unpick a section & decided to really test myself & make a button hole.
So. damn. proud. of my buttonhole !
I changed it up a little for the 2nd bag I made from the other leg of the shorts & squared the sides as well as the top & bottom edges which allowed me to leave an opening in the side seam for the drawstring to exit.

. . . and here it is finished & in use.
It's large enough to hold my work in progress; this is a summer weight cotton, top down knit jumper on needles & there is a note pad, row counter & all the usual notions we needle-craft types like to lug around with us in the pocket.

I used the machine to sew most parts but it would be easy to hand sew this project too, it would just take a little longer. 
I used the other leg to make another bag & completed both easily on a Sunday afternoon. 
It was great fun & a lovely Sunday distraction.