Here's a little something I stitched up back in December, promptly put to work holding the blue scraps, and then pretty much forgot about until I went to add another bag of blue scraps to my etsy shop. The ones in the post for the patchwork crescent moon sold, but there's one more bag here.
So let's chat about this bag now.
This is the small size from the Grocery Bag sewing pattern (also available on etsy here), but with the handles centered at the front and back, the main pieces divided into two fabrics, and the bottom boxed (4"). In the pattern the handles span the side seams and the bottom is NOT a box bottom.
The type of bottom in the pattern is something different, but I'm not sure it has an official name. I think of this technique as "kitchen corners" because if you look around your kitchen, you'll see them everywhere!
Often they are going the other way--meaning the gusset is along the bottom and not the sides. Here are just a few things in my kitchen with this type of bottom (though the raw sugar is slightly different):
I always knew it was faster to sew the bottom the way it is in the pattern, and making this bag confirmed that yes, it really is so much faster! The box bottom also means it doesn't fold up as neatly or easily as the finished version of the bag using the pattern instructions, so it's not as convenient for folding up to carry inside another bag.
This bag did turn out lovely and I recommend giving this mod a try at some point. I plan to make a few more this way and will try it out with the other sizes when I get some time.
P.S. The floral fabric is this print and the blue fabric is this woven cotton/linen.
