Sock Beetle Bag

Now that I'm knitting socks I wanted a small project bag for toting around my socks in progress. Socks are substantially smaller than my other knitted projects as are their balls of yarn and skinny needles for the most part so project bags that are larger just kind of loose it all within imho.
I saw a cutesy little bag pattern for sewing or knitting notions or as a child's purse that looked like a bug a few years ago at my local fabric store, but at the time I wasn't knitting socks so I didn't see a need to buy it.
More recently while looking on Etsy at knitting supplies I found these cute bags for sale by Sockdiva. I loved her color combinations and the personality she gave each one so I decided I wanted one. After thinking about how I wanted my bag to be and seeing her photos I wanted to try without the pattern. Here's my attempt.

The main body of the beetle is a soft and rich velvet/denim fabric from some Levi Jeans I planned to recycle into a purse. The other fabrics are cotton prints from my stash and scraps. I twisted multiple strands of wool and sock yarn into a rope for the drawstring closure. I am still deciding if I will add a strap for carryng it around. If I make another one of these bags I have a few plans for changes, but with no pattern this came out almost exactly like I wanted it to.

This is my first stash buster bag/project of the year. My fabic stash has grown significantly from donations from my boss so I plan to make many many more before the close of 2007. This one is not for sale but most of the future ones I make will be for sale in my Etsy store.

Here's an inside view showing the pocket I put inside for 7" or longer dpns. It's on a diagonal to help the needles stay inside.
The exterior pocket with a few stitch holders, a chibi and some saftey scissors. this pocket overlaps but I put velcro for additional security. I also pin my stitch holders to the inside of my bag vs. letting them swim free so I have no fear of them getting away.

Here's another look at the bag from a different angle. It measures about 7"x11".

Wallet #2

My first one was getting grubby. The fabric had too much light color and a surface that seemed to attract dirt. Honestly though it was more durable than other fabric, being home decorating fabric, probably intended for curtains or drapes, it was not meant to be handled like a wallet. So, I used some of my ideas from the first and made this one.
I learnded some lessons when making the first one so I luckily didn't repeat them. I am also much more familiar with my machine so making adjustments for the various materials was easier too, like knowing I needed the teflon foot and a sheet of paper any time the vinyl fabric came into contact with the presser foot.
This wallet is approximately the same size as the first one. I like small wallets. It is green micro suede on the outside and a combination of the same and another much lighter weight fabric on the inside.
I'm much happier with the finished product on this one, though there are still things I could tweek.
I think this fabric has a better chance of staying prettier for longer since it's microsuede and the interior is satiny. I don't think that either one will be as prone to attract dirt as the cotton for the first one.

adjustable closure.

Flat view of interior of wallet and closure tab. I used two different weight decorator fabric scraps left over from work projects. The green micro suede was a strip approximately 6"x28" and a tiny bit of bias strip from the cording I made. The floral is literally several scraps 6"x7" or less from the corners of the table round. This one was easier and faster once I located my clear vinyl (that took over an hour, lol) and decided how I was going to orient the zipper and other elements. This is a mirror image of the first wallet I made. It is more natural for me to open it and use it with this orientation. The pockets for cards and coin are wider and should be easier to access. I eleminated the exterior pocket since I don't use it. The bill pocket is almost too snug. I believe with use it will be fine as fabric stretches and gives. I moved my label to the inside.

Expanded view showing bill pocket, id pocket, 2 card pockets and coin pocket open.