Bum Bag

Getting ready to go to Paris in a few days, and I needed a travel purse that would be close to me, leave my hands free, and not stolen from easily.  Fanny packs were the way to go back in the day. (They call them "bum bags" here in the UK.)  I'm not a big fan until I saw a waist purse online. It was really cute with ruffles!  I fell in love, but when it came to $50 with shipping, I held back.  Then my sister came up with an even better idea--keep the ruffles, but lose the waist band, just making loops in the back so your belt can fit through! So I ran down to the craft store and bought a zipper for $1 and looked through my fabric. I settled on this animal print and went to work. 

I started by cutting three lengths all the same size for my ruffles.  Then cut the main part of the bag, plus a liner the same size.  Finally, the loops on the back were cut. I don't have any idea on the dimensions and next time I make one, I will do better because I learned a lot from this one. 

I don't even really know how to explain how I made it, because I just went to work.  I should have put the belt loops and ruffles on before I attatched the liner, but I didn't because I knew I might need to make some cuts before I got it to be the right size.  I might try to make a smaller one next time, but this has plenty of room for passport, wallet, phone, and even lotion, chapstick, and hand sanitizer!

Here you can see my ruffles taking shape on the purse. I'm getting ready to sew the final one on.

The completed purse

I think it looks so chic!

My view from above.

Voila!