This was written by Cherie from you & mie for the Miss Matatabi Makers series.

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Hello Miss Matatabi fans! I’m excited to be back with my May Miss Matatabi Makers Project (say that ten times fast)! When I saw these lovely canvas fabrics I was drawn to their weathered colors and sturdy texture. I picked the Mocha and Light Indigo to work with and my original plan was to make myself a backpack or duffle bag for myself, but as usual I changed my mind. It felt a little too ambitious for the time that I had and I was worried about whether my machine could handle layers of canvas. So I decided to test this fabric out on a couple of toiletry bags/dopp kits instead.

I used the Zippered Dopp Kit tutorial from The Purl Bee and I love how they came out! The fabric is just as beautiful and sturdy as they look online, and still easy to sew – it didn’t give me or my machine any trouble!

The tutorial is easy to follow and the finished bag is great. The tutorial lists the finished measurements as 12 ½ inches long x 7 inches wide x 3 inches high and it is plenty big. When I was throwing things in to take photos I was able to pack a full sized contact lens solution bottle, an eye glass case, shampoo, hair product, a small make up bag, tissue, and still had a lot more space. It’s big.

The seams of the bag are all finished with bias tape on the inside. I guess you could finish it with a serger or zig zag stitch instead, but this seemed like a neat option as well. Although this is a heavy duty canvas, the finished bag doesn’t have a ton of structure. It’s heavy duty, but still flexible and relatively soft.

For my second dopp kit, I decided to embellish a little with some hand stitching. I’ve been inspired recently by sashiko stitching, visible mending and boro textiles and have been wanting to learn and experiment more with hand sewing. I don’t know anything about these art forms yet, so I won’t call mine anything more than decorative stitches. But I like this little bit of personality it gives to the bag.

I love this canvas. I love these colors. I was nervous about sewing with heavy weight fabric, but everything went so smoothly (though a heavy needle and clips instead of pins helped in a few places) that I’m feeling pretty optimistic about trying a bigger project, maybe even that backpack I originally had in mind.

This canvas comes in three colors: mocha, light indigo, and charcoal and would be great for so many things like a tote bag, duffle bag, or outdoor pillow covers! Check it out and happy sewing to you! I’ll see you next month.

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Thank you, Cherie! Connect with Cherie on her blog, instagram, facebook, and pinterest.