Birdie Sling

I did it! I finished another bag in time for Purse Palooza! It's the Birdie Sling by Amy Butler; a pattern that's been sitting on my shelf for ages. Size-wise, this bag couldn't be any more different from the bag I made a couple weeks ago. This baby is substantial. It could eat 3 of those clutches for lunch and still have room for dessert.



It's rough to get sewing projects done in the summer. So much of my time is spent outside and keeping little people entertained (which is a good thing! most of the time...). It felt like it took me days just to fuse all the interfacing to the various pieces of this bag. There's a lot of structure to this bag and it doesn't make it the easiest thing to maneuver under the needle. After I was done with the final seam attaching the lining and exterior I felt like I had just wrestled a badger. I've never bent up so many pins— in trying to pin the many layers of fabric and interfacing together AND in running over them with the machine. That was a combination of being too lazy to take them out as I came to them and also not having a hand free as I tried to wrangle the beast.

But for all this whining, I am quite happy with the results. All that interfacing may be a pain, but it gives the bag good bones and makes it look more professional. And who doesn't love a good chevron print these days? I saw this home dec print in Hobby Lobby and passed it up the first time because I didn't have a use for it at the time. Then I decided to make this Birdie Sling and had trouble finding it again. So glad I did! The contrasting band and handle fabric is from the Summer's End collection by Hoffman.



The directions called for two pockets. I used the pattern for the smaller pocket, but made an even shallower pocket on the other side so it would fit my cell phone better. This bag will carry all my "essentials" and then some!