Playing

 I've been pondering the trash we make and the impact a few changes could make for the earth. So today I focused on wine. I do love a good glass of vino on the weekend with a good meal. What I don't like is the paper and plastic bags that package the bottle. We do reuse our plastic bags for our cat litter but the paper bag tends to go into the trash. 

I was given some heavy muslin-like fabric that was going to be sent to the thrift store. I thought it would be perfect for this project. It will work well for another project I have in mind, too. More on that later. 

I used the paper bag as a guide for the measurements. I love making patterns when I have something to base the pattern on. I made quite a few stupid mistakes while working on this. I figure I learn best by making mistakes. 

I wanted the bag to be fairly unobtrusive which is why I liked the plain fabric. After crafting it without the contrasting band I thought it was a little too plain. 

I think the floral band at the top adds a nice touch without being too fancy for a trip home from the liquor store. It could be fun to do some kind of printing or stamping on the front. 

I put the ribbon on the inside (by mistake, actually) but I kind of like how it worked out. I just tied the ribbon once I pulled it tight so it would stay closed. I'm also thinking there could be some other closure options. 

This bag fits a large bottle of wine better than the smaller bottles. I'd like to make a bag for the smaller bottles, too. Once I have things figured out I'll post a tutorial. With the week I'm having it'll be a while!