Hip Pockets

Now that it's summer and I'm wearing lots of cute skirts and dresses with no pockets, I needed a way to hold a cell phone and keys, and maybe a wallet, when I go out but don't want to lug a big bag around.  Elizabeth Bailey's Hip Pockets design (from Quilts and More Summer 2007) was perfect -- a small bag with two zippered pockets, an open pocket, and a long strap:

I used two different fabrics with a subway design, which seemed appropriate for the project.  Canal Street is not a stop I actually use that often, but the tilework is pretty and it was the right size for that panel.

The long strap, over five feet, is made from three strands of purple yarn I braided together.  Braiding such a long piece is daunting, and can get easily tangled on one end and slack on the other, with uneven tension throughout, so I came up with a system to make it more manageable:

I knotted one end together and hung it from a hook on the wall while I braided it. I bundled up the end of each strand in a loose knot to keep the lengths workable, and used a binder clip to keep the braid from unraveling whenever I had to pause (which was frequently, since my damn wiener kids insisted on things like dinner and attention).

I'm tempted to make more of these, but zippers and I do not get along.