Retro Phone Applique Bag

A few months ago I was in the play "Pack of Lies" by Hugh Whitemore. For every show I've been involved with for this theater company (so far) we do a white elephant style gift exchange at the cast party. The idea is to gift something that reminds you of the show and/or the experience of working on the show. Well the telephone rings a lot in the show, my character carries a phone off, and I made a few bags for use as props in the show. We also had a black & white monochromatic set, costumes, props, etc so I wanted to include those ideas in my gift. I love using the opportunity to make something and so far all the gifts I've done for cast parties have been hand-made.

Here is what I made for this show:

I used some soft wool and green linen for the bag itself and made a grey and black telephone applique to go on the front. I also lined the bag with the green linen. I used fusible webbing to attach the phone then machine stitched around the edges for extra durability. Then I added buttons. For one, buttons are easier to add than little fabric circles would be. And second, they add some extra personality.

I wanted to make the phone black & white to represent the colors of the show but I didn't want it to get lost in the background and I wanted to make a cheerful bag since the show itself was a adowner... I made the pattern for the bag and phone applique. I really wanted to showcase the wool I chose but also wanted it to be durable and I wasn't sure how the bottom would hold up so I decided to use a strip of the linen at the bottom and I am really happy with how it turned out. I love how the telephone looks like it's sitting on a table. 

Here's a picture with the flash on so you can see the glittery fabric:

And a closeup of the phone:

And here it is hanging up (I had a hard time getting a good picture this way):

I'm happy with how it turned out! The director of our show ended up getting it and she seemed to like it too. Thanks for looking!