Aries Crossbody Bag

When I first saw a sample of this bag, before the pattern was even released, I thought that it would be the perfect purse for me! I bought the pattern at a discount on launch day, which was months ago. Then came the part that often takes me the longest… deciding fabrics, etc. It was mulling in my mind as I made all the rayon garments. I’d gotten some luscious vinyl in a grab box, and since it was blue, I knew I wanted to use that. I had several choices for linings, and as I was sorting fabrics in my old sewing room, I kept finding more possibilities so I kept changing my mind. 🥴

The hardest decision was what to put on the front of the bag for a trim. I did a lot of searching and finally settled on ribbons. I ordered three different blue ones from an Etsy shop. They were all beautiful, and with lots of thought plus some consultation from Jess, I/we decided this combo of two of them would be just right. 

So here’s my new purse, the Aries Crossbody Bag, from the pattern by Knotted Threads Co. It turned out just as I had pictured it, and I LOVE it!

It has three zippered pockets… one on each side plus one in the center gusset area which is held closed by a tab with a magnetic snap. So there are plenty of options for organizing all the things. That center area should be ideal for keeping a phone handy.

Here are some close-up details. I am still thrilled with how my new Sailrite sewing machine does topstitching!

I think that little flower zipper pull is going to go. As Jess said, it’s too “cute” to really go with the elegant flowers on the ribbon.

I even remembered to add my tag. It wasn’t necessary, since the bag is for myself and I know who made it, but I like it there (and I still have a couple hundred of them to use up!). 🙂

The pattern was excellent, very detailed with lots of good tips, and it had an accompanying video which was also great. I followed it pretty much to the letter because I wanted it to be as perfect as possible.

I did take just a few pics along the way. Below are the D-ring tabs and the snap tab that holds the center pouch closed. I was in the process of edge-painting them. I used 3 coats of base coat and 2 coats of color. It was very quick to do but did require some drying time between coats.

Here’s my Sailrite machine at work on the topstitching. I used the left zipper foot, and underneath it here is just a makeshift fabric “hump jumper” to keep the zipper foot level with the center foot (necessary to prevent skipped stitches).

Beautiful result, right?

Everything went very smoothly (if you don’t count running out of bobbin thread on the strap… I had even checked it first, but I forget that because the thread is thicker, there’s not as much left on the bobbin as it looks like 🙄). The scariest part was sewing on that ribbon, because it needed to be right the first time around. I used double-sided tape to secure it first, and the walking foot did the rest of the job to perfection. Yay!

It’s a smallish bag, which is what I like nowadays. I don’t feel the need to carry the kitchen sink along anymore. You can get an idea of its size here.

I love it (have I said that already?) and can’t wait to take it on its first outing! I also loved the pattern. It gave my brain a bit of a workout, mainly in keeping my pieces straight so I didn’t mix things up with those two outer pockets, but exercise is good! I’d happily make another bag like this someday, too.

Fiona Foldover Bag

When I was waiting for a pattern to arrive to make the dress in the previous post, I thought I might have time to work on a pattern (which I’d already proofread) test bag for Linds Handmade Designs, so I quickly put together a selection of fabrics.  Now, ‘quickly’ doesn’t usually happen for me when I’m choosing fabrics for a project. Normally it takes me a long time, because I keep changing my mind, always looking for the perfect combination. This combo just seemed to jump out at me. However, the pattern arrived too soon (there was no tracking to forewarn me), and I didn’t even get to begin cutting. I put everything aside until later. Well, later happened! This is Linds’s latest, the Fiona Foldover.

It was a pretty straightforward bag to make and easy to sew. I used both of my machines so that I didn’t have to change tensions for the different thicknesses of fabric. My Sailrite machine still thrills me with the topstitching it does… here on the D-ring connectors…..

… and along this zipper! Gorgeous, huh?

I tried something I’d never used before on this bag. The pattern was written for a hidden magnetic snap to secure the flap to the main body, with instructions also for using a regular magnetic snap. I have some hidden ones in my stash, but I really wanted to try out the magnetic snap RIVETS I’d bought awhile back (along with the dies to set them with). It was fun, and made attaching that snap so simple! Here’s what each side of the snap looks like. The back is just like a rivet.

There’s a zipper pocket inside the main body of the bag. It’s trimmed with a piece of the outer vinyl, and I even edge coated it to make it look nicer. The zipper I decided to use was a wee bit short, but it’s one that Jess bought me in Japan a few years ago, and this seemed like a great place to use it. The tape is a clear vinyl, so the blue of the pocket lining shows through. I like the pull, too.

The only trouble I had was the final topstitching. The vinyl was pretty thick and had kind of a spongy-like backing (see snap photo above), and with all those layers at the D-ring connectors, it was just too thick to even fit under the presser foot on my Sailrite (though I’m sure it could’ve sewn through it if it had fit). It would’ve fit under the Kenmore one, though I didn’t even consider it at the time (photo below right was taken after the bag was completed), but I think it would’ve struggled with all the layers.

So I opted to use rivets for added security in that area (too bad I didn’t get them even. 😏) They are 8mm rivets, and they just barely made it through even below the thickest part of the seam! I’m not sure they’ll even hold, but I used a press, so with the spongy vinyl, maybe they sank in far enough to hold. If not and they start coming loose, I’ll just replace them with 10mm ones (which I still need to order to have on hand).

Here’s a selfie of me so you can get an idea of the size. Ignore my baggy pants of the day and the baggy, wrinkly skin on my old arms. 🥺

I think the bag would look better if it had a strap made out of the same vinyl as the body. I wanted to do that just to be able to see all that beautiful topstitching, but I was afraid I might run out of thread! I could still do it someday, though, and just swap out the straps and save the webbing one for something else. 

I’m already planning another bag. I bought the pattern weeks ago when it first came out, but I think this is going to be MY perfect bag, so the decision process on fabrics, etc., has been a long one. I think I’m about ready to start cutting finally. However, I’ve told myself I MUST organize my fabric stash and everything that came out of my new sewing room and got moved to the old one first! I’ve been working on it the last few days and making progress. It’s not easy! Organizing is not my thing. But I do want there to be a nice guest room for the next time Jess and Alex come… good incentive! 💕