Sunday, March 01, 2009

Betcha' thought I forgot....

Nope! Didn't forget my February project, I was just out of town. Ha HA!

Okay, so February's Pattern was The Swing Bag by Amy Butler



Personal Review: Woo hoo

I like this bag. A lot. It's just about the perfect size and the handles fit just right. I do wish I had gone with my gut instinct and put in pockets. I hate having to dig for my cell phone every time and I really don't care about having a reversible purse.
Quickly finding cell phone... yes!
Turning my used bag inside out so people can see the cruddy inside...nooo.

Now if I could go back in time and put the pockets in I would also use the red polka dot fabric for the lining. Instead I was being cheap and only had a fat 1/8 of polka dot fabric so I used muslin. Normally that wouldn't matter so much but you can see inside the bag much more than a "regular" purse so it feels like it's really obvious.

What about the big bow? Well, I was also cheap when it came time to make that cute fabric bow. After I made the bag I was planning on buying more polka dot fabric for the bow but once I realized that it required 1 and 1/4 yards of fabric (!!!!) I decided that a little yo-yo was just as cute and significantly more economical.


Pattern Review: good
This was a fairly easy bag to sew. The directions weren't too difficult (or I've just learned to read AB's directions 4 to 5 times before I start to a project) and the end result is a very polished look.
What I could live with out are the gimmics. No need to be reversible- I'd prefer pockets. No giant bows - I'd rather spend $12 on something much more fun. And for the love of pete, just call the inside of the dang bag the lining and not the reversible side!! If it's truly reversible, THEY ARE BOTH THE REVERSABLE SIDE!!

All in all, I like it and will make this bag again. It really would lend itself to being patch worked and quilted quite nicely...which is probably what I'll do next. So hurrah! An Amy Butler Pattern I don't hate! Let's hope my luck holds out.....I've got a bunch more of them to sew.


The March Pattern is Simplicity 4111 by Built by Wendy

I'm really not so hot when it comes to clothes but I've had the fabric for this shirt for almost 2 years now. It's officially time to take the plunge. So cross your fingers that my pattern luck holds out!

So what are you working on??



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let me just say that, having seen the bag in person, a.) you don't notice the lining that much and 2.) the yoyo is soooooo much better than a twelve dollar bow could ever be.

Good luck with the top. Maybe I'll dig out my first BBW attempt - that I cut out 2 years ago and is probably now too small - and finish it up this month.

Diane said...

Cute Bag and I love the dots! I actually like the yo-yo better than the bow. And heck, for $12.00you could probably make another whole bag. I've looked at the BBW pattern lots of times. It's cute, but I think I may be too old to wear that style. sniff, sniff. How come I look older but I still feel like a kid. No fair.

misschris said...

Still liking that bag, Michelle. :) Well done. (And seriously? A 1.25 yd bow?? Is this like 1987 or something?) I'm so impressed with your year of projects.

That BBW top is cute. Don't make me buy another pattern, please. Although I have a feeling I will after seeing yours.

Angelina said...

You can totally do a great job with clothes. you just need to practice doing it often.

The bag looks very cool.

laura capello said...

sooooo cute!

i totally need to borrow that pattern :-)