Tuesday, February 15, 2022

DIY Fringe Supply Company Field Bag

Today's project is a fun one! You may be familiar with the very popular Field Bag from Fringe Supply Company. Sadly, Fringe Supply is no longer in business and therefore no longer making these bags. They did, however, release a pattern through Grainline, so you can make your own! It's also a great blank slate for adding customization like this fun knitting graphic that I added with heat transfer vinyl. If you like the design, it's available in my Etsy shop

Field Bag

I made my bag from medium weight cotton twill, though canvas or another heavy fabric is recommended. You will not be able to add interfacing as the bag is not lined and it would not be hidden. It's best to follow the fabric guidelines here so that your bag can stand on its own.

Grainline has a sewalong available on YouTube. I found the pattern directions and the sewing to be super straightforward (with one exception, which I'll get to in a second) and that it would be a suitable project for a beginner. You're mostly only sewing straight lines, nothing too tricky! 

The pattern does give directions for adding grommets to one of the interior pockets. I never use the grommets in my other knitting bags, so I omitted them in my version. That made this an even quicker project. If you have a medium or lighter weight fabric I recommend interfacing the area where the grommets will be. That portion is folded over and IS hidden.

If you are going to add HTV or some other design to the outside of the bag, do so after step 10. That is after sewing the pockets down, but before sewing up the side seams. Use the stitching from the big pocket as a guide and center your graphic between the lines.

I did misunderstand the directions in one place. On step 16, you are meant to create triangle gussets in the bottom of the bag. The triangles are then tucked under the interior pocket piece, sewn down, and hidden. I made the mistake of sewing the triangles and the pocket all in one go, which meant I couldn't tuck and hide the triangles. I could have ripped it out, but I did not want to leave holes in my twill. I also didn't care too much and just tacked down the triangles instead. You will not make this mistake if you watch the sewalong video, as it is much more clear.

My biggest tip for sewing up this bag is to reinforce the corners of the pockets. You can do this by stitching triangles in the corners. Again, the inability to hide interfacing makes it hard to add structure any other way.

Lastly, you only need a small piece of material for the handle. You can really elevate your bag by using leather here. In ten years of sewing, I've never bought a full leather hide, I only ever buy scrap bags from big box stores. It's a much more affordable option and a great way to always have small pieces on hand. If you don't want to use leather you can also use webbing.

I got my drawstring cord on Etsy forever ago and I have used it for MANY projects. Also a good thing to buy in bulk and have on hand!

If you like this cheeky design of mine, make sure to like my Etsy shop. I will be adding more knitting and sewing SVGs regularly!

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