Teacher Gift - Sturdy Rectangular 'Thirty-One' Rip Off Bag

The month of May means sewing for teachers.  We love our elementary school teachers so much its always a pleasure to sew for them.  The time and effort I put into handmade gifts is hardly enough to say thanks for all the hard work they put in week in and week out all year long.

This year we have a male teacher, which threw me for a little bit of a loop.  No handbags or frilly things allowed!  Instead, I opted for a sturdy, throw-anything-in-it kind of bag.  I roughly based my dimensions on this bag from 'Thirty-One' that I find extremely handy and use all the time.  This particular teacher has kids who are in sports so you can never have too many bags for snacks and gear.  

I thought I picked 'boy colors' but the first thing Keith said when he saw it was "Couldn't you find some manly fabric?"

This bag is home dec canvas on the outside, cotton lining, and a layer of that foam automotive headliner stuff in between.  (Its strange stuff to sew with but I'm getting used to it, it gives nice structure, and is far cheaper than the fancy quilt shop foam stabilizer.)  The bag stands up nice and sturdy all by itself.  The straps are purchased cotton webbing and they are super strong and were easier to attach/sew through than I thought they might be.  

No pockets, key rings, or fancy zips.  Mostly because I didn't think to add them until it was too late.  It'll be a chuck-it-in kind of bag rather than an organized purse.  This is a man teacher we're talking about.  :)  Also, on Leah's request I made three drawstring backpacks for his three kids.  They should have no lack of places to stash things this summer...