DIY Dapper Day Lace Bag

This little knitted bag was my airplane project for my Ireland trip. I like to have something to knit on the airplane as I listen to my audiobooks, or watch a movie. But airplane knitting is tricky. It needs to fit in my carry-on without taking up too much room. Especially on an international flight which is long enough for me to insist upon some leg room! This bag was the perfect choice. I found it in the Jane Austen Knits magazine, Fall 2012, from Interweave. And bonus for the flight, it's a PDF publication that I could download to my Kindle! No extra papers flapping about; I like that!

The original idea for this bag was that I needed a small handbag in a neutral color that I worked for a semi-formal dress I was wearing to an event. It needed to be big enough for just my essentials: my phone, a lip gloss, my ID and a tampon. This bag is perfect. I actually had to size down a needle size to get the look I was after (a closer, tighter knit), which also meant that I had to add another pattern row to get the length I was after. But in the end the little bag is exactly what I was looking for! 

And as I was knitting it occurred to me that it would be the perfect thing for a Disney date night or a Dapper Day outfit! With the littles, I need a full backpack; but many moons ago, when it was just Mr. Photos From The Parks and I, we didn't carry much of anything into the parks! And with the magic bands today, all you really need is a place for your phone. With the state of women's clothes, and I am talking here about the lack of pockets, there are few places that a girl can keep her phone. This seems like a lady-like solution!

I also lined the bag with cotton fabric. I hate hand sewing (which I realize is a bit ironic because I love knitting and crochet so much), so I used this waxed paper solution to use my sewing machine to sew in the lining. I'm quite happy with it.

If you are interested in the details of the pattern and the yarn, you can check out my Revelry page. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!