No offense to Simplicity, a company whose patterns I typically like, but this pattern was a head scratcher. It was kind of confusing, but aside from that I wasn't thrilled about the lack of lining (so when you open the bag you see a lot of raw seams and quilting lines, and it means there aren't any interior pockets). Also, it called for a layer of batting but no interfacing, so the bag kind of looks like a heap without anything in it. I was hoping it would have more shape. And my last complaint--it was just a pain to sew. Part of that was my problem since I made a lot of dumb mistakes (more on that in a second), but the directions on this one just were not great. Oh well, they can't all be winners. I'll still use other Simplicity patterns just not this one again!!
The fabric is by Amy Butler (except the handles, which is from Joann's), and it's from her Love line, called Water Bouquet in Midnight. I've been hoarding this fabric for awhile and had a hard time finding the right project for it since the bouquets are very large.
So let's talk about how many times I messed this thing up. Too many. It started with the quilting part, when I was quilting the wavy lines on the outside of the bag and the muslin got folded under without me realizing and I had to rip out an entire length of quilting. Then I decided to alter the handles a bit since the original pattern called for 3.5" jute webbing, which proved impossible to find. I won't go into the details but I sewed them onto the bag wrong not once, not twice, but three times and had to rip them out. I also swore, definitely more than three times :)
So here it is, and I think it turned out okay--I had to stuff it with four pillows to keep its shape and use some tricky placement and camera angling to keep the scarier parts out of the shot. But it's functional, the fabric looks great, and most of all? It's done.
Happy Sewing!
I love it!! Awesome fabric combination. Those are my kind of colors! 😉
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