One of the things I wanted to focus on with my first pattern design, the Granger Book Bag, is making it appealing to both men and women.  I have a close male sewing buddy, and there simply isn’t the variety of patterns available for men that there is for women.  Thread Theory does a fantastic job filling this gap, and I am currently hard at work on my first Negroni, an impressive pattern from by Colette Patterns.  The Granger Book Bag is a simple and stylish messenger bag, designed for everybody!

 

Update! The Granger Bag Pattern is now released and you can download it for free here.

Sam’s Granger Bag is View B of the pattern, with the messenger bag style flap.  He wanted solid colours for the exterior, and opted for a nice rich brown with a sap green highlight.  Green is his favourite colour, so it was an easy choice.  I found some dark metal hardware at an Our Social Fabric sale two weekends ago, and it was perfect for Sam’s Ganger.  He expressed that he didn’t want shiny gold or silver so I was happy to find an alternative.

The Granger Bag View B has a small exterior pocket, just underneath the flap.  In the pattern, this pocket is designed to be the same colour as the main bag fabric, as it is here on my first Granger.  For Sam’s version, we decided to highlight this pocket by using the accent colour from the bottom of the bag.  You can choose either way for your version, or any other variation you can think of.

     
Sam’s bag strap is made out of fabric.  Using a canvas weight fabric for the Granger Bag exterior makes for a sturdy strap that doesn’t bunch up or fold too easily.  If you choose to use a lighter weight fabric for your bag, consider a stiff interfacing for the strap or a webbing strap, as shown on this version.

For the interior of this Granger, we chose a complimentary colour with a print to contrast the solid exterior.  Sam loves plaid so it was an obvious choice for the lining.  This is a quilting cotton, the perfect fabric choice for the Granger Bag interior.

I got to turn the tables this week and take on the role of photographer for this shoot.  Thank God for auto-focus because I am no expert at this!  Having a handsome model doesn’t hurt either, just sayin’.  Happy Birthday to Sam!  Thanks for all your hard work and help with the blog, I couldn’t do it without you!

Update! The Granger Bag Pattern is now released and you can download it for free here.