Purse-frame bag

Whilst I have heaps of bags, I felt like I needed something that was a bit more suitable for going out (smaller), that goes with more things. I have always thought that a bag with a purse frame would be cute, but I didn't have a suitable pattern, so I made it using Nicole Mallalieu's 200mm Chunky purse pattern....


I guess you can tell that I had to make a few modifications to actually get the bag to look like it does using that pattern. I had to slash and spread the pattern to make it bigger in all directions, except for the frame part. I started sewing up a trial bag before I worked on the real thing, but that has mostly been abandoned.


The fabric for this bag came from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I think it was about $15 or $16 per metre? It is a fake leather type fabric with a texture that I think is meant to be a bit like snakeskin. The fabric has a bit of stretch in it. I guess it is designed to make skirts or pants out of? I added some iron on wadding to help give the bag some structure and to remove the stretch. There is also boning added behind the straps to give extra support, and help keep the bag standing up straight and tall and not slouching into a puddle.

I love the newsprint lining - I think it adds to the vintage feel of the bag. Mostly, bought bags seem to have a dark lining, which I guess is meant to help hide the grime, but I prefer a light-coloured lining, as it helps me to be able to see inside a bag.


I used the instructions in Nikki's new book "The Better Bag Maker" to help me make the zipped pocket inside. Normally, I would be going through my pattern stash, looking for which patterns have that set of instructions, or check my notes from the zippers for bags class I attended - but now I have the book, so I can save myself heaps of time by just referring to that.

The purse also has a nice hard base and cute little round purse feet on the base. Instead of just using it to go out, it seems to have become my everyday bag.

3 Easy Steps to Make Better Bags

Step one - GET THIS BOOK!
Step two - read it
Step three - make all the things!!


Nicole Mallalieu's latest book is hot off the press and oh boy, is it a good book or what?!! The book comes with the patterns you need to make ten different bags graduating from a basic tote at the start, right through to the fancy-schmancy Toronto backpack as you can see above. I made this backpack about a year ago as a pattern test for the book. It is a really versatile bag, as it converts from a handbag style that you can pop under your arm, to a tote so you can fit in a little more shopping, and then, when you've been at the craft show all day and you're running out of hands to carry all your shopping, it can convert to a backpack!


But ten great bag patterns isn't even the best bit. The part that you will really be loving is the bit right at the start, where Nikki tells all of her best bag-making secrets. Since I started using Nikki's patterns, and learning all her clever tricks, I really feel that my sewing has improved by leaps and bounds. The Better Bag Maker covers quite a lot of the techniques that Nikki uses in her patterns, all in one place. This book tells you how to make professional looking straps, crisp corners and insert zippers like a pro. Nikki shows you how to choose interfacing, as well as how to apply it. You also learn how to install all the yummy metal bits, like magnetic snaps, o-rings and purse feet, that take your bag from homemade to hand made. There are also plenty of different pocket options so that you can make your bespoke bag work the way you want it to. The best part of all this, is that you can use all these great tips on all your other sewing and make everything you do look more professional!


I am so pleased to have this book on my bookshelf, it is a great reference to have and I have already used it to help me install a professional looking zip pocket inside my latest bag, but that's another blogpost!

Sneaky Peeks and a Skinny Stash

You may not know this, but one of my favourite pattern designers, Nikki (Nicole Mallalieu of You Sew, Girl!), has a new book coming out really soon. This will be her second book. Yes, she is THAT good. I did some pattern testing for the book last year, and I am not sure if I am able to show the full, finished bags, but above and below are some sneaky peeks for you (shh!).


The book is called The Better Bag Maker and from the small amount that I have seen, it will be jam-packed full of snazzy tricks to get a great finish to make beautiful hand-made (as opposed to "home-made") bags. It doesn't get released until May, but you can pre-order it now at a lower price from Fishpond* or from Amazon and I am sure, many other great retailers. I will try and remember to come back and show some photos of the full finished bags once the book has been released, if I can tear myself away from it long enough to make a blog post.


To create these wonderful bags, I used at least 12 FQs of fabric. I had to estimate as I didn't keep track, and sometimes fabric can get hidden inside pockets and these bags had plenty of pockets! Since these were made last year, they contribute to the SYST challenge. I also used approximately 3 FQs to make Amélie's Gingham Puppet Show Shorts. In addition to this, I gave away approximately 8 FQs of pale pink fleecy to my mum so she could make some things for my niece. It had been sitting in my stash for a while and I don't really do pastel colours. My friend, Amy (Badskirt) gave me some a metre of crazy fish fabric as well, so that adds 4 FQs back into the stash.



MY FINAL SYST 13 RESULTS!:
in = 144, out = 293, total = -149

In conclusion, I used more than double the fabric to what was added to my collection. My stash is over 35m of fabric thinner than it was 12 months ago. Whilst the totals weren't mega-huge, a lot of rather small things were made. A lot of what was added to my stash was given to me too, so my over-all spend was really quite low. I am really happy with the results, but it might be a while before I pay so much close attention to how much fabric I am using/stashing. I think I would rather just get down to it and sew, sew, sew!

My goal for this year is to sew more things for myself, at least one item a month, which I am keeping to so far, but that is another blog post!