I made these little tote bags for my little girls to carry their missals and prayer books to church. The little ones like having missals at Mass so they can be like everyone else - I got Kateri an old second hand missal and Eliza just has a Sunday missal, but they are both very pleased with them. Kateri has just started trying to follow along with the Mass, sitting next to her sister and comparing pictures to see if she is on the right page.
I had made myself this big tote bag for my 'stuff' using the One Yard, One Hour Tote Bag Pattern at Lazy Girl Designs. I really like this pattern; there's something very appealing about having the bag and lining all one piece and also using an even yard of fabric - makes it all seem neat and tidy like to me. I also appreciate how the handles are added last and so it's impossible to mess them up or put them on wrong, unlike some other bags (you don't have to ask me how I know, but it involves making tote bags for my daughters one Christmas at like three in the morning).
I made two mini versions of the bag for my girls, following the same technique, with a finished size of about 7 1/2" x 11". I added rick rack to sweeten them up and also the crocheted flowers so they could tell them apart. Kateri picked out the fabric from the Easter clearance items and it seemed quite appropriate for a church bag.
Each girl has her own missal and prayer books in her bag, along with a treasured holy card or two. Our two long time favorite prayer books for the littlest ones are My Prayer Book, sized just right for little hands, and My Jesus and I.
The sweet illustrations with their soft hues are so lovely and each one is a lesson in itself. I don't know how many copies of these we have worn to shreds over the years, they are so well-loved. They are also quite inexpensive and nice to keep on hand for little baby gifts, and so presently my little girls each have their own brand new copies. We read through the books and talk about the pictures at home so they can learn from these beautiful books and then enjoy looking at the pictures quietly at Mass.
Another idea for prayer books is to mount various holy cards and pictures onto colored paper and then slip them into those mini photo albums. Little ones can use these for learning the family's favorite saints, adding 'pray for us' after each one for a little litany. It's also fun for older children to help the younger ones make these books - they can do the writing and assist the little ones with stickers and other embellishments.
These are so beautiful. My kids carry their missals in plain old canvas bags. I wish I could sew.
Posted by: Ruth | July 14, 2009 at 08:09 PM
These are so precious. I want to do this. I have no idea how, and I don't sew, but lately I've been planning to get a sewing machine and to learn so that I can make long skirts and dresses for my girls, and now, this. :) We are newly Catholic...my husband is returning and I am converting. I appreciate your site because we are still at the beginning stages of bringing the Catholic faith into our home. You always inspire me with your lovely blogs.
Posted by: Mindy | July 14, 2009 at 11:15 PM
These little bags are so lovely. My friend's little girl's Easter dress was made from that same fabric. She wore that dress almost every Sunday on through the summer until it was too short and beginning to get threadbare. :) My "Mass Bag" has fabric on it called "Story Time" by Robert Kaufman (I may be misspelling his name) and the pictures look like the illustrations in "My Jesus and I." I love that bag!
Love your blog, too.
Posted by: Kristyn | July 15, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Just beautiful Kimberlee, you've just given Violet and I another lovely project!! Thanks so much for the link to the lazy tote too :) The "My Prayer Book" has been a favorite in our family for littles to take to Mass for ages, it's so precious!! Much love,
Posted by: meredith | July 15, 2009 at 08:59 PM
This is wonderful! My daughter would love this! Do you have any ideas on what to make for a boy so it seems less of a purse? Because if my daughter has one, my son would like one but I don't know how daddy would feel about that. ;) God bless.
Posted by: Jodi | July 16, 2009 at 08:16 AM
Perfect idea. My girls are forever losing their veils and misplacing their missals. I will get these done in a jiffy!
Posted by: molly | July 16, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Thanks for the kind comments, friends.
Kristyn, I remember Aussie Annie had some of that fabric a while back and it looks lovely.
Jodi, I think for boys you could use a solid color fabric (like black or navy) and leave it plain or perhaps embellish it just with a cross or a monogram (the boy's, or JMJ or AMDG). Also, keep the handles very short to avoid the 'purse' look - it would seem more like a regular missal (or Bible or Breviary) cover that some people use.
Happy sewing, ladies!
Posted by: Kimberlee | July 17, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Another fabulous post by Kimberlee! :-)
I love how you made each child their own bags though, very sweet. Good job!
We've long carried "mass bags" to church, usually only one at a time (we had a few favorites, laugh) with interesting items inside for wee ones and the grandbabes, my sweet progeny who used to frequent our pew with us before we moved east.
Our mass bags were only for Sunday here, switching out items every few weeks or so along with the missals inside. Veils were also located in the bags naturally, so handy on Sunday mornings to get up and go, already organized. What fun to see you post this, brings back so many memories of my own babes when they were younger. Love it!
I wanted to add an idea for the boys is a bag with shoulder straps to use as a mini backpack - works great. I made one for my grandson, and stitched a holy card of his name saint in a plastic outer pocket, sealing it tightly. His name was recorded at the top of the Holy card, just in case he set it down some place and forgot it..wink. That never happens right? LOL
Posted by: Renee | July 17, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Kimberlee,
These are such a great idea!! I have to ask you a question that I know everyone wants to know...how do you do it all? You get so much done in a day..that which takes me weeks. We have just returned from Catholic Familyland and I have been doing wash for days nothing else gets done. Maybe in one of your post you could help some of us less then organized people get structured? Please? hehehe have a great rest of the Summer and can't wait to see what else you accomplish!!
Susan
Posted by: susan | July 20, 2009 at 06:59 PM
Wonderful project Kimberlee.
I love seeing the things you make.
Posted by: Helen (MaryVitamin) | July 24, 2009 at 01:54 AM
These are lovely! It would be nice to have one of these for my 3 year old daughter. I use a Land's End canvas bag to carry my son's visual schedule and a book about the mass.
Posted by: LAA and Family | July 31, 2009 at 12:06 AM