Mini Log Cabin Bag

It was September 2022 when Alison Glass @alisonglass and Giuseppe Ribaudo @giucy_giuce hosted the Mini Series Sew Along. I made 15 - 4.5" unfinished blocks, with the intention of eventually making them into small gift bags. I'm finally ready to make that happen!

First up is also the first block I made in the sew along - a log cabin. Though I'm not following a pattern per se, I have the basic technique of the Project Drawstring Bag by Svetlana @sotakhandmade in my head, and am doing something very similar. Though of course, first, I had to remove the papers from the back of the paper-pieced block.

Fabrics for this first bag are Essex in Natural for the exterior, the Ledger print from Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures for the lining - which was also the background for all of my mini series blocks - and a coordinating stashed blue print for the casing. I'd made similar bags after taking a class with Giuseppe back in 2018, and for those, had quilted the exterior. I chose to do the same this time, and since I wasn't using interfacing or batting, the quilting kind of made the fabric pucker a bit. I pressed it after, of course, and actually like the texture the quilting adds. 

As a reference for future bags, I cut the exterior pieces for the front sides 2.5" x 4.5", and 3.5" x 9" for the top and bottom framing the log cabin. I sewed those pieces on, then quilted the front, then trimmed it slightly to square it up a bit. I cut the backing 9" x 10.5", quilted, then trimmed to match the front. The final bag measures 8.5" x 10", including the casing.

What fun! I hope to continue to make more drawstring bags with my mini blocks in between other projects. Already mulling over which block to use next.