Lighthouse Convertible Bag

Since my other Bag of the Month Club Convertible Bag sold quickly, I decided I wanted to make another one.  This is a fun bag from Samantha from At Home With Mrs. H that I like because it is fun to make and looks great when completed.  This bag is large enough to carry an Ipad or just to use as your regular handbag.  It is convertible because the strap can be removed, threaded through the fabric tunnel on the back of the bag and clipped to the back, bottom D rings to wear as a backpack.  The adjustible strap allows you to wear it as a cross body or as a shoulder bag.  So many options in one bag.

I have had this lighthouse fabric for awhile.  It reminds me of the summers we used to boat and so many driving vacations where seeing the various lighthouses on our route was a must.  The reddish faux leather is one of the fabrics I bought last weekend when I went to the upholstery and drapery fabric outlet.  I bought the last yard they had.  It was great to work with and I would have gotten more if they would have had it.  The prices are great but selection and yardages always vary and I realize if I like it, I should buy what I think I will use over time because chances are others will like it too.  Like the shiny black quilted fabric that I went for that they no longer have!

Anyway, back to the bag.

It was fun looking at all of the lighthouses on this fabric to see which ones I have been to.  There are even two that are within a couple of hours of my house...Marblehead, OH and Old Fairport Harbor, OH, both of them on one of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie.  I put them on the front of the bag.  They are side by side on the bottom left corner of the purse flap.  One is white and the other is tan.

The flap covers the faux leather pocket and is fastened with a tongue latch.

The back of the bag has an outer zippered pocket and the hardware to turn it into a backpack.  (See the Statue of Liberty partially hidden under the fabric tunnel above the zipper?) Yes, she is considered a lighthouse!  (Didn't know you would get a geography lesson, too, did you???)

The inside of the bag has a slip pocket on one side and a zippered pocket on the other.

The last time I made this bag I didn't add the backpack hardware.  This time, I decided I would, to give it more versatility.  This is what it looks like with the strap threaded through the fabric tunnel and clipped on the bottom D rings.

I will definitely keep making this bag.  I love it!