Copycat Fringe Supply "Field Bag"

Friends, I don't know about you, but I caught the "Field Bag" project bag bug from constantly seeing knitters show off their bag on my Instagram feed.

I looked up these supposed bags online at the Fringe Supply Co., and they are priced at $65, not including shipping! Yikes! (They are really well made, I'm sure they are worth the cost, but I'm too cheap to spend over 70 bucks to ship one to my door.) The maker in me accepted the challenge to find material similar to the original Toffee version (and others) and voila! A really close copycat version! Thanks Joann Fabrics!

^^ LEFT column photos coypright: http://www.fringesupplyco.com

Photos on the left column are the original bags, and photos on the right column are my re-creation. Aside from the lighting in the photos, and a couple of subtle differences such as width in strap, the label and minute differences in dimensions, I have to say it is really close! I added a "KUAS" tag so it wasn't naked in the front. Heck, I even folded the bag and ironed the vertical crease and included pockets in the inside because you have to have the little details if you are going to go all out anyways!

 I am very pleased with this bag. I will be creating more in the future, but I still have to work on another Christmas project bag before it gets too late in November.

Not bad for not having a pattern. I have made bags in the past, and took those templates and made the bottom boxier for this one. My one gripe was that after changing my sewing needles out for the "heavy duty" ones, because I was using canvas fabric AND thicker thread, the machine kept eating the fabric and kinking up the thread and I must have re-threaded that machine 30 times (and unpicked dozens of stitches) before I realized that I inserted the needle in the wrong direction, and that does make a difference in performance!!

My next bag will have a "webbing" strap and slightly thinner rope for the pull-string. I'm a happy knitter! Have a great weekend!