Further along the way of my bag-making journey I am booked into a Bag Making Retreat in early October. In advance of the retreat we were sent a copy of the bag pattern that is planned. After perusal of the pattern I felt it would be a good idea to make a ‘trial’ version.
According to the pattern envelope the Morgan is the perfect gender- neutral, device carrying companion with secure top zip closure & flap in 2 sizes. The small size fits a tablet up to the size of 12.1” (30.7cm) screen inside the padded interior pocket, whilst the large size will accommodate a laptop up to the size of 15.4” (39cms) screen. With zipped pocket, cargo pocket and hidden under-flap pocket, you’ll be sure to have plenty of space.
So, from this description I realised that the bag would be quite an involved and complicated sew. As I knew that I had no need of the large sized bag, I planned to make the smaller version. I had just over a 1 metre remnant of cotton fabric from cutting out a ‘Harley’ dress and decided to use this to make an ‘in your face’ BOLD bag!
Construction notes: Although the instructions are very comprehensive, I did manage to make some minor errors in the construction. As envisaged, the bag is a complicated make. I usually budget 4 hours to make a blouse or shirt, 6-8 hours for a dress, but this bag took 10 hours of intense work!
I have a large stash of nickel hardware so was able to use that, together with ‘headliner’ foam instead of the recommended Bosal ®. I made an error in applying the foam to the front flap BEFORE inserting the zip for the hidden pocket and that made the zip facing and insertion a little difficult. The tab at the end of the inserted zip is not my best work and I added an elasticated key keeper.
I left the bottom of the internal zip pocket unstitched and it was fairly easy to turn the bag through to the right side before stitching the opening closed again. The top stitching around the top of the bag was completed using a size 100 top-stitching needle which worked well – something to remember next time.
Conclusion: This could be a very useful bag for someone needing to carry a lot of ‘kit’ around. As I do not have a need for this type of bag, although I will be making again at the retreat probably using fabric from my stash, it is not something that I will keep.
Project #43 completed 23rd September 2022