Gerbera Mini Crossbody Bag #2

Well, where were we? Or maybe the question should be, "Where have I been?" I've been here, sewing (among other things). If you recall from my last post, Jess and I had made plans for three bags. I've now made two of them. Here's what went into the second one, including a change of plans for the strap fabric, which became the somewhat wrinkled stuff on the bottom/right of the pile. I happened to think that a strap out of the light-colored barkcloth would show the dirt awfully fast, so I suggested substituting this. It had actually been part of a pair of drapes at one time. Upcycling is good, yes?

I adjusted my pattern pieces according to what I'd learned the first time around, and everything fit together the way it was intended to. I also used a technique [learned from Erin Erickson(Gilbey)'s patterns] for getting the corners at the ends of the zipper to turn out nicer, and that helped a lot. So everything went much better this time. I was so pleased with how my zippers turned out, in fact, that I had to stop and take photos of them. Ha.

Sooo... here's my second Gerbera Mini Crossbody Bag (from the free pattern found here).

See those nice corners? Yay!

This time I also used the band pleather for the zipper tabs, the D-ring tabs...

... and for the gusset, for a fun change. Incidentally, for this bag I made the gusset in a single long piece instead of the seamed gusset that the pattern called for. Seaming is best for directional prints, but I didn't need that for either the outside or the lining this time, and an unseamed gusset is stronger.

The lining and inside zippered pocket are from the brownish fabric in the top photo.

I'm still liking my little labels... and most of the time I remember to put them in, although sometimes not until it's almost too late. (They glue well, too. Ha.)

I tried something new this time. Awhile back I'd heard about Chicago Screws, and I bought some. They are like rivets only they screw together. Because this strap fabric was so thick, my other rivets seemed too small, and it would've been very difficult to get two lined up straight together. So I went with these, and I'm glad I did. You punch a hole, the same as for other rivets, and then you screw the two pieces together instead of pounding. My only concern is that they might unscrew over time, so I have some Loctite on the way. These are a nice alternative, but I think I like regular rivets better just because you don't have the visible screw slot on one side. No biggie, though, I guess.

(Just FYI, if you consider purchasing the Chicago Screws I linked to above, be aware that even though the description says 1/4", they actually measure slightly more than 3/8".)

The fabric was so thick that I had to make the strap non-adjustable because it wouldn't fit through a slider, plus I couldn't even fold it under decently at the ends, so I didn't tuck the end under and instead just zigzagged the raw edges twice, and I like how that turned out.

Here are the two bags, from Jess's In Theory and Time Warp barkcloth collections for Cloud9 Fabrics.

For details on the needed pattern adjustments, see my first here.

I took the photos in the living room because there was so much good natural light coming in the windows today. Josie and Annabelle were delighted to watch and very eager to help, but by the time I got done, this is what the scene looked like. Poor things - I guess I worked them too hard.