The original pattern was for a small bag measuring 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep, free from Swoon Bags.
I definitely need something larger so decided to re-size up to a 10 inch.
I drafted out the new pattern but before I swept onto construction of the new size, I thought it would be a good idea to make the original-sized bag first. This way I could check out the construction techniques.
A good idea in theory but in practice I still managed to miss a couple of key points when making up the re-sized bag.
As this was most definitely a ‘trial’ bag I did not want to use any of my ‘special’ fabrics or the faux leather that is destined for the final iteration once I have mastered the pattern.
Instead I used some 100% linen that was gifted to me along with lots of random lengths of furnishing fabrics. This particular fabric is ‘Up the Garden Path’ by Vanessa Arbuthnot, © 2011. I do not have a bag in this colour so if it worked out well then I would have a useful addition to my collection of bags.
For the lining I would use some of the spare fat quarters of Beautiful Birds on Duck Egg Blue cotton that I purchased a couple of years ago from Dunelm Mill. If you are interested, the design is still available in a wide range of products.
Due to the larger size of the bag I thought it would be OK to use headliner foam wadding. This was fine except that again, I ended up having to apply a binding to the top of the bag rather than stitching the lining to the outer and then ‘bagging out’.
I side-stepped the difficulties of turning through the long magnetic tab by making a short tab which was inserted between the outer flap and its lining.
However, I did not allow for the depth of the bag and so the magnets are not in exactly the correct position. The one on the bag side should be nearer to the top edge of the bag. At this stage I cannot change the position so will have to ‘live with it’.
A small mistake when cutting the lining for the bag flap means that the birds are well-placed – but upside down! Other than that I think that I have done quite well with the pattern placement and pattern matching.
Having assembled the outer bag, I realised that I had not cut the panel for the outer pocket that should go onto the back of the bag – oh well, this is definitely just a trial. I have marked up the pattern pieces so that next time the outer pocket panel is not overlooked.
To make up for the lack of a pocket on the outside, I did make two pockets for inside; A small zipped pocket in which to keep valuables, plus a slip pocket for my mobile phone. As the bag is quite deep, I also added a loop to which I can attach my car and house keys which otherwise always sink to the bottom of the bag.
The long strap has an adjustable slider so that the bag can be worn ‘cross body’. As I have temporarily run out of nickel magnetic clasps, the one on this bag is brass, the remaining hardware is nickel.
In conclusion: this bag is not perfect, there is definitely room for improvement but I am nearly there.
