Well, here it is….finally. My Blog. After years and years of sitting of the fence about this I finally picked a side and thought WHY NOT? I make bags. I test bag patterns for bag pattern designers. I love taking photos, and I love sharing my tips and little bag making secrets with people!
So, without further ado……this is what I sewed today…
This Satchel type bag is a sweet little one I sewed up to test an upcoming pattern for Hold It Right Here patterns. I used DILL (I love that colour name!) Essex Linen combined with Alison Glass’ new Seventy Six line. The pattern calls for foam, woven fusible interfacing, a flap closure, some D rings, clasps and some zippers as well. piping is optional, but almost ALWAYS gives a a professional look. I do love the look that woven interfacing gives to the exterior of a bag, but i always substitute a NON woven fusible interfacing for the interior. This saves me a bit of money and makes no difference in the end product whatsoever!
This is not a huge purse but it has a lot of features! As always, I customized my bag slightly…I added concentric top stitching rows on my flap and installed a Turn Lock closure instead of the Thumb Lock called for in the pattern. I thought this fancy, schmancy Circle Lock looked great with the Alison Glass fabric on the exterior flap since it echoed the circles in her print. I always try to incorporate hardware that goes with the “feel’ of a bag…maybe I am a bit OCD that way, but oh well.
Both the front and back have these round cut out slip pockets, the back actually has an additional zippered pocket installed within the slip pocket. Don’t worry though, the instructions on how to do this are very clear and easy to follow. 
The pattern calls for a shoulder length strap, however my customers LOVE cross body bags so I extended mine to 60″ and added a slider to make it adjustable.. The bag has loads of storage pockets inside including a divided slip pocket and another zipper pocket. The silhouette is outlined in piping, a feature I really love!
This pattern will be available for purchase in Hold It Right There’s Etsy shop, and her Craftsy Shop. Incidentally, my bag will also be listed in my Etsy shop for sale.
Barabooboo 