Amy B. Origami Bags - Set 1

So, I'm really slow getting these pics up. Here, at last, are the first of the Origami Bags (from Amy B's new bag book) I made for corralling travel stuff. I strayed from Amy's exact sizing on some of these, as I was using whatever caught my eye from the scrap drawer, and with whatever odds and ends of mid-weight fusible interfacing I could find.

This is the smallest one. If I'd blogged this closer to sewing day I would remember more precisely how it might vary from the littlest Origami pattern in the book, other than it's made from just one piece of fabric on each side, rather than having pieced sides like all the others. 

I also made it a bit longer than the pattern, partly because I only had a narrow piece of this fabric, and also to fit the intentended contents, which were my pink iPod Nano and my ancient cell phone + earpiece, as you see here. This one came along in my purse. That's a Kaffe Fasset print on the outside, Heather Baily on the inside.

These two are a bit larger. The green one in front was the first I made, so it's the most accurate rendition of Amy's sizing and proportions. That came in my purse, too, as it held the requisite 1qt. zip-lock baggie of hand sanitizer etc. Sure, I coulda just stuck the plastic baggie in my purse, but who doesn't like pretty fabric better than plastic?

This whole project started when I made the green one, thinking it would be handy to corrall all the powercords and rechargers I was taking with me. But, duh, I didn't pay enough attention to the photos and diagrams in the book when I selected what size to make, because these bags are all about 2" longer at the zipper than they are at the base. So when I got the first one done, and went to fill it up, it turned out to be just a little bit small for the purpose.

So I made another: the pink and orange one in the back. It's about 12" long and intentionally wider/flatter than Amy's design (accomplished by taking a deeper cross-seam when forming the corners of the base). From a purely design standpoint, the proportions of this one are not as pleasing, but it's the perfect size for everything I wanted to stash in it: chargers and power cords for the camera battery, the iPod, the cell phone, and my Kindle. It holds a lot of cords. This one went into my suitcase, and I was very pleased with it.

These were so quick and fun, I made two more. Which I either never took or have lost the photos of. I'll remedy that shortly. They are just like these three, only slightly different.

If you are looking for an excellent last-minute homesewn gift idea, I highly recommend one or more Origami bags. BTW: the book calls for making these from home dec weight fabric, but as you can see, quilting weight works just fine, too. And don't worry about having exactly the interfacing called for. I used probably three different kinds and weights in my not-matching set, with no problem at all.

I would have made some of these for XMas gifts, but I used up all but tiny scraps of my mid-weight interfacting stash on the ones for myself, and haven't managed to restock yet. Maybe next year.