Beautiful Belle Handbag

I treated myself to a new spring bag by sewing up the Beautiful Belle Handbag by Amy Butler.



I had been holding on to a few half yard cuts of Washi for a while. If you've ever read my blog before you'll see a fabric hoarding trend here. I rarely, if ever, buy a fabric and immediately use it.

I didn't follow the pattern for any of the insides of the bag. The large divided pockets it called for didn't seem all that useful. So I made a zip pocket on one side and a couple of open gusseted pockets on the other. It's hard to get good photos of the inside of a bag once it's sewn, so I snapped a couple quick shots before I sewed the lining together.





Unfortunately, the cell phone pocket called for in the pattern is too small for my phone (even though I did a quick test measurement and thought it would!). I stitched it on, found it too small, ripped it off and reworked it (using the same piece of fabric) by changing the way I pleated it. Technically it fits now, but it takes quite a bit of fiddling with it to get the phone in, so most of the time I end up just tossing my phone in with all my other junk. It is a nice pocket for my sunglasses though!

I also added a magnetic snap closure to the bag. So glad I did because otherwise the bag would flop wide open every time I set it down.



I also made myself a matching fabric envelope (using this tutorial, with a size adjustment) for my coupons.

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!

Elegance Pleated Clutch

This weekend I finished up the Elegance Pleated Clutch from Bags: The Modern Classics by Sue Kim. I love the patterns in this book! I think the bags are fantastic and her fabric choices are wonderful. I checked this book out twice from the library, which took a while because there was a reserve list a mile long. Neither time did I actually have time to sew anything from it, so I decided to treat myself and buy my own copy.



The only problem I encountered with this project was my own stupid fault. The magnetic snap I first installed was ridiculously strong. Like I had to use a butter knife and pliers to get it apart STRONG. I bought these snaps several years ago when the Joann's in town went out of business, so they've been sitting around for quite awhile. Of course I had trouble getting them apart when I took them out of the packaging, but for some reason I thought they would be easier to get apart after they were in the fabric (better leverage?). Obviously, that was not the case. Maybe I need to revisit second grade science class and get a refresher course on how magnets work (i.e. they don't become less attracted to each other, just because they've been snapped into fabric!). Luckily I found a new set of magnetic snaps that fit in the same holes and I was good to go!



The fabric is from the Parisville collection by Tula Pink. It's another one of those fabrics I've been hoarding for just the right project. I had thought about using another coordinating fabric for the outside flap or side panels, but loved this print so much I wanted to use it everywhere. The lining is another print from the collection. And the button is just something I had in my sewing box- love it when I can use what I already have and don't need to run out and buy something special!





And I managed to finish this in time to participate in Purse Palooza! How can you not want to make yourself a new bag with all this inspiration flying around the blogs?! I have one more pattern in mind I'd like to make before the Palooza ends, but that may be a pipe dream. With so many other things going on in the summer, it's hard to find time to sew. Wish me luck!