A Tote Fit For Tiffany's

I have a love of old movies and one of my favorites that I indulge in over and over again is "Breakfast at Tiffany's"! Audrey Hepburn's classy style is one that I continually try to mimic so when I stumbled upon a picture of a beautiful tote bag with her iconic image on it I just knew that I had to try to create one of my own. Of course, I had stumbled on this image well over a year ago and no longer knew where to find it (I am so far behind in my list of things I would love to accomplish). But I never could forget what it looked like and so I set off to create one of my own during the last few weeks of my pregnancy. 

I chose a few of my very favorite fabrics (you know, the ones that get stashed away for future projects but never get cut into because you can't bear to use them up). Since this needed so few of each I finally saw the opportunity to cut into those beautiful pieces. I pieced some strips together for both the front and the back of my bag. 

And then I sketched out my image of Audrey and began hand appliqueing her into place. 

She was finally starting to look like Holly Golightly but she still needed more!

And so I pulled out the embroidery hoop and got to work adding details, including her pearl jewelry. 

Once she looked like Holly I was able to finish piecing the front of the bag. 

Once I hit this point the bag came together quickly. I added some straight line quilting and straps and I was ready to add some thick stabilizer (to help the bag hold a nice shape). 

I sewed up the sides and added a lining and the bag was ready to wear out. Of course, for now I am sporting a diaper bag but I will have a great tote to take out at some point! 

It was good to be back behind the sewing machine this week. I hope to keep trying to make progress on some other projects I have going but obviously my sewing time has been much shorter as we transition to life with another little one! As much as I love sewing, I love cuddling my little peanut so much more! 

Until next time . . . happy sewing!