The bags that I have made to Deby’s pattern have proved to be very popular. So much so that in the Autumn term I hope to tutor a day workshop for those that want to make the bag and prefer to have live tuition whilst enjoying the whole experience of a “sewfest” workshop.

In order to honour Deby’s copyright of the design I am now affiliated for her pattern. If you wish to purchase the pattern – please follow this link:-

http://payhip.com/b/GsDW/af55aec4baca2b7

Happy stitching to all you bag makers out there!

For the third incarnation of this lovely bag I used some more Linen Union that was a gift from a friend. This time the fabric was a dark rusty Red with Off White print of feathers and eggs. For the lining I purchased 1 metre of a co-ordinating quilting cotton from New Threads at Weyhill Fairground.

Although I again used a Twist Lock fastening, having already made 2 bags with this mechanism I was now confident enough to place the Twist part of the lock before stitching the side seams of the centre panel. Thus I was able to avoid the fiddly step of insertion when panel seams have been sewn and the area is more enclosed.

To avoid the struggle of stitching the strap right sides together and then turning right sides out, I pressed the turnings in on both pieces and top-stitched in place, all with the right sides facing out so that I could ensure an even “faux” piping effect.

This time I did not use the swivel hooks, instead the bag is attached with rectangular hardware through the strap ends and the tabs. There is an “adjuster” so that the length of the strap can be shortened or lengthened according to my requirements be it shoulder or cross body.

I still refer to the written instructions which are set to one side of the sewing machine and I enjoy flipping through the pages from one to the next. I think that this is the last cross body bag that I will make for a little while – next on the “To Do” list is 1) finish some patchwork and quilting projects and 2) a dress made from Border Print fabric.

This pattern is now my favourite “go to” design for bag-making! The first version was made using a linen union furnishing fabric and took 6 hours to complete. This version is made using a 100% cotton dressmaking fabric and took just 4 hours to finish. The reduction in time taken is due to three factors; 1- the fabric is a great deal easier to handle, 2 – I did not need to “fussy cut” the design and 3 – I now know a lot more about the method of construction having also discovered a few short cuts to reduce the construction time.

As you can see this fabric has a bold design of Sunflowers on a Dark Blue background. All stitching, including the top-stitching was completed in Pale Yellow thread. I used a plain Yellow cotton for the lining – both fabrics and the two zips came from my stash and so count towards my stash-busting campaign.

I am very pleased with the end result which will co-ordinate well with my denim-based casual outfits and also add an “accent” to plain-coloured dresses.

I was recently introduced to Deby Coles of So Sew Easy on Craftsy by a friend from the Franklins, Salisbury Patchwork and Quilting Group. Maureen was carrying a bag which she told me was by Deby and called the Cross Body Bag. I have purchased the pattern and following a couple of sessions when I watched the video tutorial I decided to use some heavyweight furnishing fabric in two complimentary prints that had been donated by another friend, to make the bag. For the lining I would use some Cream Damask that I bought several years ago from the Remnant Department of Oswaldtwistle Mills.

Inspired by the demonstration bag I would use similar bag hardware to that featured – a twist lock fastening, D rings, swivel hooks and a slider to convert the strap from “cross body” to “shoulder”. It has taken a couple of weeks for all the hardware to arrive but today I was able to set aside the afternoon (and early evening) to make the bag.

The instructions were printed off and read through prior to embarking on the cutting of the fabrics. I had decided to use these two complimentary prints in shade of Pink and Duck Egg Green for the bag and was most fortunate in that the remnant used for the side panels was exactly the correct depth as dictated in the cutting plan. As the surface fabric was so robust I decided to forego using interfacing but I did use fusible wadding on the lining pieces and inside the flap. I made a slight error when cutting the centre panel for the front of the bag and thus the design is off centre but otherwise I think the “fussy” cutting has worked well.

The finished size of the bag is approximately 10 inches wide x 11.5 inches tall x 2 inches deep plus the strap which was cut 44 inches long. The design of the bag is quite complex in that the reverse has a zip pocket plus a slip pocket, the front panel has a slip pocket with shaped top. Inside there is another zip pocket and a slip pocket with machine-stitched divisions. The strap has a special feature in that it is made from the two fabrics stitched together in such a way as to produce a faux piping along each side. Turning the strap through to the right side was a struggle but again I am pleased with the end result and will use this method again for another bag.

Now having purchased several sets of bag hardware and completed my first bag I feel confident about making another. Next time I will use a dressmaking cotton fabric remnant of Dark Blue printed with flamboyant sunflowers.