Wanderlust.

I’ve wanted to make a weekender bag for a while now. Ever since I saw Dad’s old American Tourister bag (similar to this one) while passing through the furnace room. (You have to go through the furnace room to get to mon petit atelier.)

That night, I lay in bed one night and mentally figured out how to construct it. I guess I fell asleep and forgot about it when I woke up, distracted by my massive WIP pile. Days, weeks, maybe even months, went by. (I’m easily distracted anymore.) Finally, I had extra fabric left over from making aprons so I set about drafting a pattern.

I got one of those fancy schmancy double slider zippers from Joann—they only had beige or black in the 22” length. The fabric is a vintage home décor print. It’s stabilized with heavy interfacing, though I think it could use a super heavy one, to give it proper structure. There is an inside zipper pocket. I have been wracking my brain to figure out ways to add more pockets, especially on the outside but the way I put it all together, it’s a smidgen difficult.

This is actually the first of three overnight/weekender bags I have in my head. So look forward to seeing a couple other variations in the future. If they work out, I think I’ll put a few limited editions of each in the shop, then maybe do a tutorial or two (or three!) However, that won’t be for a while, so in the mean time, this one is similar to Amy Butler’s Weekender Bag, in case you’re looking to make one yourself right away. Though, I have heard that’s an “advanced sewers” project.

Having this bag sitting in my room is really giving me a case of wanderlust. I haven’t been on a vacation (not even a weekend getaway) in over two years. I’m craving experiencing a Scandinavian summer. I hear they are beautiful. But I’d settle for something a bit more local—like maybe northern Vermont. Don’t know why but that area is calling to me lately.

What about you? Are you going on a summer vacation? Day dreaming about going somewhere else?