Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mischievous Gnome Messenger Bag

Sarah's Messenger Bag
I recently completed a bag for my sister in-law, Sarah, from Sew Liberated's "Mischievous Gnome Messenger Bag" pattern.  It turned out beautifully and only required two band-aids for me....
This bag has a short pocket on the front and a tall one on the back.
Some changes I made to the pattern:
  • I sewed in velcro as the closure for the top flap and added a pull tab from the same ribbon that is used on the pocket edging.
  • Used ribbon on the pocket top edges instead of the fabric band included in the pattern.
  • I had to cut the patch bigger in order to fit the bird on it.
Tough Spots:
  • I had a hard time sewing the bottom corners. I had to do it twice because something got caught up in the stitching the first time. (It's a lot of layers).
  • I had problems with stretch while sewing. I think I will try my dual-feed foot next time.
  • Plan your layout carefully. You can see there is a bird near the top of the front pocket. That is my second pocket. I thought I had planned to not cut off the bird's head by leaving the seam allowance above it....forgetting about the ribbon I was going to put on. That fabric is $16 a yard -- NOT a good mistake! :)
Other shots, including inside pocket:
Sarah's Messenger Bag Sarah's Messenger Bag - Inside Pocket Sarah's Messenger Bag
About the fabric:
  • The inside swirly fabric is from The Haussmann 1800's Collection by Sharon Yenter for In The Beginning fabrics. It's color matched the echino nicely. I don't know what the blue is.
  • The pocket fabric is by Echino for Kokka fabrics.
  • The bag flap and body is a corduroy.  Source unknown.
  • The blue fabric on the inside pocket is also unknown.