What’s in Your Bag!

Another great Island Batik Bag Challenge, with Bags by Annie! We were allowed to choose any Bags by Annie pattern that had a video. This is my third Bags by Annie challenge. I actually picked one of the easiest bags I had done so far. I picked “Pocket Packers“.

All of the fabric and supplies were provided to me for free by Island Batik. Bags by Annie also contributed them in my role as a 2024 Island Batik Ambassador.

I picked some fabric from the Spring ’24 collection Poetic Bouquet, by Heidi Pridemore Signature collection. I love how pretty the fabric is.

I choose to make all four Pocket Packer bags. 1 Pocket, 2 Pockets, 3 Pockets and 4 pockets.

Bags by Annie, sent me the mesh, fabric stabilizer, zippers, vinyl and Soft & Stable. All the items that were needed to make the four bags.

Each piece of fabric needed to be quilted at a smaller size. I decided to sew the four front pieces together. I also sewed the four back pieces together. Then quilted on my longarm with the Soft & Stable in the middle. This worked at so well, and I was capable of getting it quilted.

I quilted with some Aurifil Color Builder thread that I had purchased, called Hawaiian Blue Ginger. There was a variegated thread that matched most of the fabric.

I quilted on my Juki Longarm, with a design I got from Quilting Pantographs.

Bags by Annie patterns are so easy to use. They guide you step by step. They even have a sheet at the back to copy and cut out labels for your pieces as you cut. These bags were easy to make. They didn’t have a lot of parts to get mixed up. I still cut out those labels and used them. This way I knew what I had already cut out, and what I needed to cut.

While cutting the pieces, I would do one thing differently next time. On the four-pocket bag, I was a little short on the vinyl at the bottom. I had to trim. I would cut the last pocket just a little larger, and then trim after attaching. I am not sure if I miss cut one pocket, or what happened. You can’t tell the difference.

While I was quilting the fabric, I had a little visitor. One of my husband’s bee’s decided to come see what I was doing. He left after a little while, before it was time to roll up the fabric for the next section.

Here are my four bags together, filled will lots of goodies.

The back are mesh, and you can easily expand for your fabric or other items. These would also be great for adding your small items to your suitcase when traveling. I am heading to the Houston Quilt Festival in a couple weeks. These are going to be great for the supplies for my classes. Easy to carry and easy to use.

Pocket Packer – Single Vinyl pocket (Front & Back)

18″ Ruler fit diagonally in the front Pocket. Along with some other rulers.

Two Pocket Packer

Three Pocket Packer

The bottom pocket is perfect size for the Pocket Packers Pattern.

Four Pocket Packer

Perfect size for all you small quilting supplies.
Aurifil Thread (colors I used), chalk, pens, small scissors and binding ruler

I had so much fun making these 4 Pocket Packer bags by Annie. They were easy to make. You can make the handles different lengths. I made mine a little larger than the pattern shows for on a door handle. You can even make the length long, to put over your shoulder to carry.

The By Annie Vinyl is so easy to use, it comes with paper on one side. So you can see what you are cutting. It is also a nice thickness that keeps your stitches from cutting the vinyl.

If you like my bags, make sure to check out the other Island Batik Ambassadors bags. There a so many different choices for bags, some easy and some that are more advanced.

Brenda Alburl ~ Songbird Designs
Renee Atkinson ~ Pink Tulip Quilting
Megan Best ~ BestQuilter
Pamela Boatright ~ PamelaQuilts
Susan Deshensky ~ Lady Blue Quilts Studio

Brittany Fisher ~ Bobbin with Brittany
Preeti Harris ~ Sew Preeti Quilts
Mania Hatziioannidi ~ Mania for quilts
Jane Hauprich ~ Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Kim Jamieson-Hirst ~ Chatterbox Quilts

Victoria Johnson ~ Forever Quilting for You
Connie Kauffman ~ Kauffman Designs
Connie Kresin Campbell ~ Freemotion by the River
Emily Leachman ~ The Darling Dogwood
Denise Looney ~ A Quiltery

Leah Malasky ~ Quilted Delights
Maryellen McAuliffe ~ Mary Mack Made Mine
Lisa Pickering ~ Lisa’s Quilting Passion
Sarah Pitcher ~ Pitcher’s Boutique
Lana Russel ~ Lana Quilts

Julia Schweri ~ Inflorescence Designs
Gail Sheppard ~ Quilting Gail
Carol Stanek ~ Stitch with Color
Sandra Starley ~ Textile Time Travels
Jennifer Thomas ~ Curlicue Creations
Suzy Webster ~ Websterquilt

#islandbatikambassador, #islandbatik, #iloveislandbatik, #aurifil, #aurifilthread, #iloveislandbatik, #islandbatik, #byannie, #pocketpackers