Bag Accessories

Since I made myself the Lapin Noir Bag, I decided I wanted some new accessories to go with it.  Why not, right?

This is the All-Purpose Wallet from Charmed Liebling.  I've had a lot of fun with this great pattern.   

I added the ruffle down the center of the outside for fun. 

This is the inside of the wallet.  This has so many great components.  There is a zippered pocket, card slots, a dimensional cell phone pocket and a pocket for paper currency.   

That is a bow on top of my elastic cording on the cell phone pocket.  

On the sides of the credit card slots I pulled out my glue gun and glued down the twill ribbon.  I had the twill ribbon in my stash.  It has the definition of family printed on it.   This is actually from my scrapbook/card making supplies. 

Before I glued the ribbon, I zig zag stitched down the sides of the credit card slots a few times.  I also made sure to add glue to the sides of the slot pockets as well as the twill ribbon.

This sunglass case is from a pattern out of the book "Bags:  The Modern Classics" by Sue Kim.

The lighting is slightly different on this pic as I made and finished the wallet earlier in the day. Later, I decided I also wanted a new sunglass case.  

 That's all for now.  

Kennedy Bag (Bag #2)

This is the Kennedy Bag from Sew Sweetness.  It is available as a free pattern on the Sew Mamma Sew Blog.  This is a great bag!  In fact, this is the second Kennedy Bag I've made.

I've added bows to this bag.  These bows are a pattern from Michelle Patterns.  I have used this pattern a LOT!

This is the back of the bag.   I've used fabric from IKEA, again.  :)  I love this fabric!

This is the inside.  There is a big zippered pocket on one side and a divided slip pocket on the other.

This is the bottom of the bag. 

I should also mention that the strap is adjustable.   

This is the side.  I used ties on the side for a fun touch. 

Enjoy your day!

Midtown Messenger Bag

This is the Midtown Messenger Bag from Betz White.  It is April's Bag of the Month Club Bag. 
 

Midtown Messenger Bag-front

Lately, I have been making bags for others out of outgrown clothing they provide me.   So, I decided to make a bag from some of my children's outgrown clothing.  This bag was made from a pair of my son's cargo shorts, a pair of jeans, painter's cloth, and scrap fabric. 

  Since I deiced to use a pocket from the shorts on the front of the flap, I changed the pattern slightly here.  Instead of cutting the flap strip, flap center panel and flap side panel, I used the flap lining panel to cut the top of the flap piece.  The pocket on the flap is useable.

I love the look of the Tuck Catch Closures, but I had a hard time finding them.  There wasn't much of a selection online, either.  I finally had an "Aaaah Haaa! Moment."  I searched for and found the closest leather specialty store.  That is where I got the ones I used.   They were less expensive than the ones I found online, too. 

Midtown Messenger Bag-Front of bag under flap

 

Under the flap there is a divided slip pocket on the front.  I've left the pockets (from the shorts) useable.  Whew!  It was not easy to cut these pieces.   

Midtown Messenger Bag-Zipper top

This is a picture of the inside of the bag.  You can see the tablet pocket.  This pocket closes with a Velcro square.   

This is the back of the bag.  There is another slip pocket here.  As you can see, this is the top front of the shorts. 

I've tried on several occasions to make a "m-urse"  (A.K.A-a bag for a man).  :)   The men in my family  always tell me that the "m-urses" I make are too "girlie."   I thought "Oh ya!  I've got it now!  If I use my son's clothing, then it for sure will be 'manly.'"  So, what did they say when I showed them this bag?..."It looks girlie."  Whatever!  :)

 

So, what do you think?  Is this a "girlie" bag? 

Butterfly Sling Purse

This is the Butterfly Sling Purse.  It is February's Bag of the Month Club Pattern designed by Janelle Mackay from Emmaline Bags. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, how I am in LOVE with this bag!  I finished it just in time for Valentine's Day, too!  Fitting?  Hummmm?  :) 

 Speaking of weather!  Wait, I wasn't talking about the weather....well, I am now.  What a difference a day makes!  Today was BEAUTIFUL!  There was SUN and warmer temps--without being too warm.  Love these kind of days!  :)

Top View--see those card slot pockets!

I also love when bags have lots of pockets. Oh, the organization of it all!!!  (Swoon!)

Sure, I don't always like that I own a zillion zippers and not one is the right color EVER!  Nor do I always like to cut all those extra pieces of fabric and interfacing.  Wowzers!  I love me some pockets! :) 

This bag has a total of 12 card slots (6 on each side), 3 zippered pockets, a slip pocket--perfect for my phone, an ID pocket.

Opened Up



Other things I love about this bag:  it has an adjustable cross body strap, it is a great size--I can fit my phone, keys, sunglasses, ID and a few other items--no problem!

Back
 

This bag goes together pretty easily.  For some unknown reason I thought I'd struggle more making it. 

Have a GREAT day!

Bye Bye Love Bag

Hello Everyone!  I know I've been missing.  I have several blog posts in various stages of being done.  I've been busy sewing, sewing, sewing!  Whoo Hoo!  As a result, I haven't taken much time to write blog posts. 

I was outside taking pictures today and it was actually too cold to be standing out there.  I am SHOCKED as it's not normally this cold where I live.  This winter has been interesting to say the least.  My kids have even had snow days this year.

Sara from Sew Sweetness designed this wonderful Bye Bye Love Bag. It's from the Bag of the Month Club.  I bought a membership as a gift to myself.  :)  I am so glad I did!  

Bye-Bye Love Bag front with flower

Bye-Bye Love Bag front without flower

I decided to play around a little bit.  I added that purple panel on the top front of the bag.  I could have added it to the back of the bag, but as you see below I decided not to--at the last minute. 

The back with AWESOME zipper pocket. 

 

Inside

This is a LARGE flower!

I was in the mood to make a BIG flower.  So, I made a BIG flower!  LOL!  I added a pin on the back to that it can be removed or moved.  What do you think with flower or without?

I actually just finished this bag last night and made the flower today.  I can't wait to get started on February's Bag of the Month Bag!  I LOVE this bag, too! 

It Ain't Easy Being Green!

 

 My daughter LOVES frogs!  I knew when I saw this pattern I had to make it for my Daughter's Birthday. 

I luckily found a remnant of fabric that is a tweed--it 's actually greener that it looks in this picture.  It had some kind of thick rubber backing on it--PERFECT for this project.  I didn't have to add any additional interfacing, although it was very thick to sew through in many spots.   I also used a faux leather for the trim and handles.  This bag looks store bought.  I wouldn't guess that it was homemade--if I hadn't made it myself.  :) 

The instructions in this pattern are easy to follow.  The bag sews together fairly quickly.  It does have a lot of pieces to cut-out and precise cutting and sewing is required to make this bag.  I recommend marking sewing lines for the fingers and toes. This frog bag is made from Vogue Pattern  #8942.  Included in the pattern are instructions and pattern pieces to make an owl bag, too.   

Have a great day!

Beatnik Waist Bag from Sew Sweetness

Hello!  Yes, I have severely neglected my blog lately.  Sorry about that! I had a family emergency of sorts right before Christmas and I am finally getting myself together.  All is well again. 

 

I have been busy catching up on projects so, I should have several new blog posts coming soon.

 

I am very late in posting this great pattern from Sew Sweetness. 

 

This bag is a handy dandy waist bag.  It is the Beatnik Waist Bag Pattern from Sew Sweetness.  It has an adjustable strap to fit most waist sizes.  There are two flap pockets on the front, a zipper pocket on the back and two slip pockets on the inside providing lots of organized hands-free goodness.  I was thinking that maybe this waist bag would be great to use on long runs?  Sporting goods stores sell waist bags to hold water bottles, gels, etc...for long runs.  I know this is a little too flat to hold a water bottle...but it would hold a flask or two!  HAAAAAAA!  That's one way to get through a long run.  :)   CHEERS!

 

Just this week I received an e-mail from a "brand name" bag designer that released a line of bags that look almost exactly like this pattern!  However, I do believe that this pattern is better.  This pattern has more pockets.

 

I bought the fabric from a store that went out of business and had a final clearance.  There were lots of home décor fabric bolts going for waaay cheap!  I have several yards of this fabric....so, I'm sure you'll see more of it.  :)  If you have any suggestions for projects that would look great with this fabric PLEASE let me know.   I was thinking of maybe making the cute Honeymooner Suitcase from Sarah Lawson's (from Sew Sweetness) great new bag book Big-City Bags: Sew Handbags with Style, Sass and Sophistication. 

 

inside with slip pockets

back with zipper pocket

  

the back zipper pocket open

Have a great day!

Jenny Bag Pattern From IThinkSew

 

This is the Jenny Bag from www.ithinksew.com.  

 

Kennedy Bag

This is another great bag I was allowed the opportunity to test for Sew Sweetness.  As of the time of me typing this, I believe that the pattern will be avail. on the Sew Mamma Sew site. 

The pattern has you use buckles on the flap and on the sides of the bag.  I was unable to find the right size buckles.  I looked several places...no luck.  So, I had to ad lib a little bit.  I used slider bars in place of the buckles on the flap.  Also, since I didn't have any swivel hooks, I made my strap longer, ran it through rectangle rings, and made it adjustable with a slider bar. 

 

For the side of the bag, the pattern instructs you to use 1" wide buckles.  I couldn't find two matching 1" wide buckles.  The closest I could find was 5/8" wide buckles.  So, I changed the size of my side accent pieces to 1 1/8" wide x same length.  I punched a hole in one side accent piece as instructed, folded it in half and basted this to one side of the side piece.  Then I sewed three sides of the other accent piece wrong sides together, trimmed seam allowance, clipped corners, turned right side out and edge stitched along three sides.  I basted the raw edge to the opposite side of the side piece.  I marked where the buckle prong would hit the accent piece and punched a hole.  I added an eyelet in the hole.  I repeated this for the other side of the bag.  To tack the loose hanging strap I cut a piece

1 1/8" x 2 1/2"  I folded the raw edges of the 1 1/8" side to meet in the center.  I edge stitched along each side.  I then folded under one raw edge 1/4" and glued it.  I let this dry then wrapped this around the overhang and side accent piece and glued it, again.  I glued it because I used faux leather and wasn't in the mood to attempt to sew it.

This is the inside of the bag with a divided slip pocket on one side and a large zipper pocket on the other.   

 Click here to see what all the other talented bag makers did with this pattern. 

 

 

Vogue 8741 Bag

 This bag is made from Vogue Pattern #8741 by designer Marcy Tilton.  It is view C-D.

 

I made this bag out of faux leather or vinyl.  Although I like how the bag turned out, I do not recommend using this type of fabric for this particular bag.  It was a HUGE pain. 

 

 

This is a picture of the top of the bag.  It has a tie closure.  This is a huge bag with tons of pockets inside. 

 

 

This is the inside of the bag.  There are 4 pockets along the outside (see dark grey with white dots).  These are four separate pockets...they are divided.  There is the pocket in the front, back, and each side. 

Before I sewed this bag, it was a little difficult to understand the pocket configuration. 

The roomy center inside area is the white with grey dots.  There is a zippered pocket in this section, too. 

 

I changed the handles.  I like a strap that can go over my shoulder.  The instructions have you cut a strap in half.  Then cut each half in half.  Since I wanted the strap to be longer I did not cut it in half the second time.  I knew my sewing machine would NOT forgive me if I tried to sew the straps on--again this is because I used faux leather.    Also, I knew the stitching would come undone easily.  So, I attached the handles using rivets.  I then added the covers from the pattern.   I wasn't happy with how the straps looked.  So, I thought on it for a little bit.  I then had an idea to make straps to tie around each  handle cover.   Now I LOVE this bag!  Although, if I were to make this bag again I'd still make the handles even longer. 

In my past experience with Vogue Patterns, there was usually a critical place where I couldn't understand what the instructions were tyring to say and I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to put it together.  That was NOT the case with this pattern.  The instructions were easy to understand.  The main confusing part was on the envelope back where the fabric requirements are...I had a difficult time figuring out the difference between view C and D.  Also, as stated earlier, the inside configuration wasn't very clear. 

 

Park West Bag

Here is another great pattern I was allowed the opportunity to test.  This is the Park West Bag from Sew Sweetness. 

 

 

On this pattern I decided to play a little bit.  I added the ruffles on the front and on the side pockets. I also used faux leather for the accent pieces. 

Other slight changes I made were on the handles.  I made the handle tabs 1/4" wider.  I also cut my handles 6"x 32" so that the finished handle would be 1.5" wide, because the metal rectangle I used had an opening of 1/5".  After I attached the handles to the metal rectangles, I folded the straps in half and edge stitched along each side. 

back

 

This is really a nice roomy bag--without being enormous!  There are lots of pockets.  It would make an excellent diaper bag.  The accents give this bag a touch of class. 

side pocket--with ruffle I added.

Okay--never mind my finger being in the way.  :)  This is the inside of the bag.  I added pockets on the inside lining on the sides.  There is a zipper pocket on one side and a slip pocket on the other.  I added the slip pocket--not in pattern. 

If you are looking for a great bag that is a little bit on the larger side to hold all those necessities, this will be the perfect bag for you!  I know that my kids think "mom=pack mule."  So, I'm always stuffing things in my purse that they hand me. 

Tie Pocket Pouch

 

My Mom sent me this pattern and several of my Dad's old ties.   This pattern is the Tie Pocket Pouch from Indygo Junction.  If you don't have any ties to use, included are pattern and instructions to make one from fabric. 

This is a really quick project.  The instructions include illustrations and are easy to follow.  That is for the existing tie version,  I haven't tried the fabric version, yet.  

I was thinking that the pouch would be able to hold a cell phone but the only really usable pockets are the two little pockets in the front.  The bigger of the two is just the right size to hold business cards. 

 

 

 

California Sunshine Bag Pattern From Charmed Liebling

Once again, I was allowed the amazing opportunity to test another great pattern for Anna at Charmed Liebling. This is the California Sunshine Bag. I can not begin to tell you how much fun I am having testing patterns. Although, I have learned a lesson that I need to print the pattern instructions.  Otherwise I forget to read parts of the instructions.  UGH!  When testing patterns, I've been trying to put my own creative twist on the project.  For this bag, I added bows. 

 

 

This is the front of the bag.  

 

This is the front of the bag with the flap up.  Again, I added the bows and the strip at the top of the pockets. 

 

This is the back of the bag.  There is a slip pock on the back.  Again, I added the bow and the strip at the top of the pocket. 

 

Besides the addition of the strips and the bows, the only slight adjustment I made was to the strap handle.  Since I had a 1.5" wide rectangle ring, I adjusted the strap and strap extenders to fit these. 

To add the strip at the top of the pockets:  I cut a piece of lining fabric 1 1/4" wide.  I pressed 1/4" of the long edge to the wrong side.  I then lined up the top raw edges of the pocket and the strip of fabric.  I edge stitched the fabric strip close to the fold. 

This bag is the perfect size...not too big and not too small.  There are lots of handy pockets that can be added.   If you are looking to make a new bag, I suggest heading here and getting yourself  this great pattern. 

The Cargo Bag

This purse is the Cargo Bag from My Favorite Things Patterns. 

This is a really neat bag.  It is expandable.  There is a zipper that goes around the bag so that it can be expanded....see below.

 This bag has a two zippered pockets on the outside.  One has a zipper the other a flap closure. 

This was my first My Favorite Things Pattern.  The instructions were very clear and easy to understand.

Zip Around Wallet # 2

This is another Zip Around Wallet from Studio Cherie that I made.  See other Zip Around Wallet post here. 

 I was able to use all scraps.  I chose to use the cell phone pocket on the front and the zip pocket on the back.  Next time I will enlarge the pattern a little so that my phone will fit better.  It will fit in the front pocket now but it really needs to be slightly larger. 

 

Zip Pocket

Inside with zip pocket and card slots.