Finished Project: D's shoulder bag

This time last year in my new years resolutions I decided that I would knit more selfishly and work on more projects for myself. As Christmas approached I decided that I would keep to this and reduce the number of Christmas presents I made. In the end I only made two, one knitting and one sewing project.

My brother D is very difficult to get presents for. Although he does like knitted gifts and has had quite a few, I wasn't sure he needed another knitted hat. Then when I was at home in September I saw that his shoulder bag was on its last legs, and inspiration struck. My only slight worry was that he might replace the bag before Christmas, although as my mum said, short of it falling apart this wasn't very likely.

I measured up his bag, to make sure it was the correct size, and investigated which pockets he used most, and I was ready to go. I was temporary held up when my sewing machine broke down, but after a quick visit to the repair shop we were ready to go.

The outer fabric is a black wool blend, with a sewn on welsh dragon (of course). The bag is lined with elephant patterned cotton - I couldn't resist it, and there is a secure inside pocket to keep small things safe.

One of the most difficult things was finding a buckle to allow the length of the strap to be altered. Eventually I found it in a crazy little haberdashery shop in Brussels.

D seemed really pleased with the bag when he opened it up on Christmas day, and he hadn't got round to buying himself a new bag, phew!