Bag Refashion: cute fabric is the cure

I've been using this lunch bag for over a year. It comes with me every time I leave the house. It totes water, tea, books, snacks and whatever else the day calls for. It usually comes back with more than we left with: sticks, rocks, flowers, leaves...bugs. For some unexplainable reason whichever bottle I use inevitably leaks tea all over the bottom of the bag. It has been washed and dried so many times but the tea stains remain. 

After the latest washing I noticed not only is it still stained, but it's looking quite ragged and faded from the multiple drying sessions. Lately I found myself Looking at and examining lunch bags when shopping. I feel guilty, I have a perfectly good bag...sure maybe it's ugly but it is completely functional. I secretly wished the dryer had torn it up a bit to justify a purchase. "I'll dye it!", I thought.  One of my tried and true ways to quench my urge for the new is to dye.

I wanted red, I dyed it red. It didn't come out red. It came out a pink that actually looks much better in this photo than it did in real life. I didn't like it, Mama Doll didn't like it. I was so close to buying a new bag. The doll gave me the answer!

She was sitting on my work table next to the bag and it hit me. "I have a bit left of that matryoshka fabric, hmm let's see if there is enough". I made a slip cover of sorts. I had just enough fabric with nesting dolls (and adorable animals) for the front.

There was enough of the small print to cover the rest.

It's so cute!

The new fabric is quite soft, it would not hold up to the wear and tear that the bottom will take. So I left the bottom as is, a nice tough black canvas. Mama Doll agrees, this fabric was the right choice.