Hippo Hobo

My latest sewing project was the Hippo Hobo bag, from the pattern by Emma Wengier of Emkie Designs. I found it to be a very well-written, easy-to-follow pattern, using actual photos (which I love) instead of computer-drawn diagrams.

The fabric is from Jessica Jones's latest collection of barkcloth, Holding Pattern, for Cloud9 Fabrics. It is scheduled to be released this month!

I used navy pleather for the accent pieces and straps...

... and I got some good practice setting rivets (which I needed!).

Of course with the pleather, there was need for lots of Wonder Clips...

... and without a free-arm on my 46+-year-old Kenmore, I had to do some wrangling...

... but I'm very pleased with how it turned out! Here's the back view with its welt zipper pocket.

I hadn't planned for those flowers to sit on the edge of the pleather like they do, but I'm glad they ended up that way. I'm also happy with how they matched up at the edges (yes, I did plan for that).

The bag opens wide, like a hippo's mouth (thus the name) and it has another zipper pocket inside.

There's also a hidden zipper pocket under the flaps. [All the pockets were finished on the inside as per the instructions in the Roundabout Hobo pattern by Erin (Erickson) Gilbey.]

As requested by Jess, I reduced the pattern size to 90%, because the bag is going to a somewhat petite person. Here's how the size looks on me.

The pattern was straight-forward and easy to follow. The biggest challenge I had was sewing the strap tabs on, partly due to not having a free-arm, and also because my strap was already attached to the D-ring since I didn't use swivel clasp hooks like the pattern recommended. They seemed unnecessary, since who's going to remove the strap and use the bag without it? They were just for looks, basically.

So that's my latest. On to the next project in the queue!