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These are two bags that I made for my trip to Hawaii. They were done pretty last minute so I had no time to blog about them before I left. The green one was given as a present to my friend for her birthday, hence the lack of pictures, and I liked it so much that I made the orange one as a last minute addition for me to use. Here they are modeled on location in the picture above.

Main Fabrics: Amy Butler Poppy Fields, Joel Dewberry Aviary
Inspiration: Amy Butler Frenchy Bags
Modifications: Only one set of pockets on one side, shrunk pocket size
Difficulty: 4
Enjoyment Factor: 9
Sewing Time: Probably 5 hours each

The Good:

  • The design of this bag is very unique. It catches everyones attention when wore because it is so different.
  • The pattern was pretty easy and, as always, Amy does a wonderful job detailing out every step.
  • I changed the pattern bags to have just one side of pockets instead of both sides, I split the pocket into three, which would have probably been better as two, and shrunk the height of the pocket so that it was not as deep. Next time I might put pockets on both sides with the split, because they were not as intrusive as I thought when sewn to the side panels
  • I really liked the poppy fabric as that was a heavyweight fabric and didn’t need any interfacing, which made for less cutting. I also think it flows a little nicer than the fully interfaced orange one, but that is just my opinion (then again, so is this whole post :P )
  • LOVE those pleats. I gotta say that they really make this bag.
  • Joel Dewberry is a genius!! I love his fabric, especially the Aviary collection. I bought quite a few yards of this at the Purl Soho warehouse, which I normally do not do without a specific project in mind.
  • LOVE the wood paneling on my orange bag. I just like the idea of saying that my bag is wood paneled :) . The stripes (not shown) on the green one are pretty cool too. I have to say my favorite combo is the green one, but the orange one is a very close second.

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The Bad:

  • I didn’t like how you had to top stitch the connection between the top and the bottom panels and do it again when the product was finished. I know it was probably for a good reason and I didn’t do that bad of a job, but I think it starts to make the stitching look sloppy due to the excessive passes.

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  • I am not a “hold my bag in hand” kinda girl so that green one is a little small for me. It actually proved a little small for my friend as well. I would definitely lengthen the handles next time to make it a little more practicle.

The Ugly:

  • The second pass of top stitching definitely takes attention and care so that you do not bunch up the lining fabric while trying to keep your stitch lines straight. Definitely the biggest pain of the entire project, which sours the ending a little. That is until you use the bag and magically forget about this little bit of irritation.
  • That stupid magnetic snap cost me$4.00 at Michael’s because Jo Ann’s was all out of the 3 for $1.49 pack. Did I stock up the next time I saw them, hell yeah!!

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