Emily's Dance Bag + Ballet Slipper Pouch

I bought a half yard of ballet slipper fabric several years ago with the intent of using it for something in Emily's room.  Well, that didn't happen so when Emily requested "dance" fabric for her new bag, I knew I already had the perfect fabric.  The problem was finding a coordinating fabric for the inside of the bag and the straps.  I tried to match the pink of the ballet slippers but it's such a unique shade, all other pinks clashed.  I spent forever in the fabric store combing through every shade of pink and gray and finally ended up with a straight up plain gray, which I didn't love, but realistically, this is a dance bag and life needs to move on.  I was hoping to find a fabric with gray polka dots or some kind of design, but all of those had a white background, which did not match up with the cream color of the ballet slipper fabric.



I'm not a fan of that gray pocket.  I should have used the same fabric but that would have entailed matching up the pattern and I wasn't in the mood.  Here's a photo of the other side of the back.  The gray doesn't look so bad when it's in low doses.  Also, you can't really see because these photos aren't close ups, but I used a light pink stitching on the gray to tie it all together.  The woman who cut the fabric for me at the store actually suggested it and it really was a good idea.  I tend to match up my thread to the fabric because it's a pet peeve of mine when people sew a project all in one color out of pure laziness.  This was a good reminder that thread color can mean something.



Emily didn't want any pockets on the inside of the bag but did ask for a pouch to store her ballet slippers in so they don't get beat up by her tap shoes.  I used my favorite slippery fabric and the pouch is fully lined.  I do like how that turned out.

Up next on the sewing schedule:  Disney customs