I've been away for the last few days, on a very exciting trip (that I'm going to tell you all about very soon, but in the meantime I'll give you a little hint ),  and it's been the first time that Bella seemed to really feel my absence. So this morning when she came to me with a plastic carrier bag full of her 'work' (notepads, pens, blu tack etc) complaining that the bag was too big, I suggested that we get her new sewing machine out and make a bag together. (a huge amount of giddyness ensued. Followed swiftly by shouts of "let me have my breakfast first!!...I will in a minute...Bella, one more time and we won't make anything!")

Bella chose the fabrics - the brief was "pink and flowery" of course, so Bella picked a vintage Laura Ashley and a print by Tanya Whelan (Barefoot Roses for Free Spirit) that came out a couple of years ago.

Because I didn't want to be messing about with finishing seams etc and wanted the bag to be a little sturdier than a single layer of cotton would allow, I decided to line it. Which meant cutting two identical sized pieces for the bag outer and inner from the two fabric choices.

Bella had requested that the bag could be worn across her body, courier bag style, because that's how I wear my everyday bag. So I cut an extra long piece and draped it over her shoulder to get the right length.

Once I had cut the pieces (not ready to let Bella loose with a rotary cutter just yet), Bella sewed the pieces up, with me working the pedal so that she could feed the fabric through. I then ironed the top seams and again Bella did the rest of the sewing whilst I operated the foot.

I have to say that if anyone's thinking of buying a child (or even themselves) a first sewing machine, then this is a really good one to go for. It's two thirds the size of a normal machine and only has four different stitches - straight stitch in 5 sizes, zigzag stitch in 3 sizes, a scallop stitch and a tricot stitch, but for everyday sewing you really don't need anything else.

As a child it's perfect because the size makes it easy for them to handle and even at four (almost 5!!) Bella can understand the dial and totally gets that it's how to choose the stitches. And as an adult, if you haven't got a lot of cash to spend, or you know you're not going to use it often, then it's cheap at £49 (relatively speaking!) and takes up very little space. 

I wouldn't recommend it for constant use, or for sewing anything heavy, for example it probably wouldn't be strong enough to quilt on. But if you want to make everyday bits and pieces then it's a good place to start.  Bella certainly loves it and I'm happy that it's going to last her for a good few years. Which wouldn't be the case if I had bought her one of the dedicated children's machines, which I don't recommend to be honest. They tend to be very plasticky, with no real stitches and I just don't think that you can do enough on one of them to really get a child hooked on to the fun of sewing and creating.

To make this really simple bag -

Bag outer - 1 piece of fabric cut - 12 x 22"

Bag inner - 1 piece of fabric cut - 12 x22"

Bag strap - 1 piece (from either fabric) cut - 3x30"

1. Take the outer piece, fold in half, short edge to short edge - right sides facing.

2. Sew down the two long sides, using a 1/4" seam allowance.

3. Take the inner piece, fold in half, short edge to short edge - right sides facing.

4. Sew down the two long sides, so that both the outer and inner are the same.

5. Still inside out, fold the top seams over by about 1/2" and iron flat, on both the outer and inner.

6. Turn the outer bag the right way out, but leave the inner bag as it is. Put both to one side.

7. Take the long strap piece, wrong side up and fold one long edge over by a 1/4" and iron flat, then do the same for the other edge

8. Now fold the entire strip along it's length wrong sides facing, so that the two longest edges are together and iron flat.

9. Sew down the whole length of the strap, close to the edge.

10. Take the outer and inner bags and place the inner bag inside the outer bag, matching the seams up.

11. Separate the outer and inner bags at the corner seams and insert the ends of the handle, in each corner, about an inch in , so that they sit between the inner and outer layers, pin in place. Then pin all around the top edge of the bag.

12. Sewing close to the edge, stitch around the whole top edge of the bag.

And that's it. Super easy and quick.