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Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review : Swoon Blanche Bag

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This post is part of Purse Palooza. For contest rules, full details, and schedule, please click here! Today’s post is from Wendy of W.D. Handbags!

Hi All! First off I’d like to say thank you to Sara for once again hosting Purse Palooza and asking me to participate. You’re awesome!

Secondly, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wendy, and my alter ego is W.D. Handbags. I started sewing 10ish plus years ago on a bit of a whim.  Sewing is my preferred creative outlet (I love to sew handbags and accessories mostly); I’ve recently learned the love of crochet through YouTube and online tutorials. I’d love to conquer knitting but my fingers just don’t seem to want to cooperate with 2 needles. I’m usually caffeinated; I’m addicted to Pinterest, nail polish and all things chocolate. That’s enough about me. Now onto the main event…

When Sara asked if I’d like to participate in Purse Palooza, I jumped at the chance and knew almost immediately what bag I wanted to sew. I’ve sewn a lot of bags in my time, and lately I’m all about Swoon Patterns. Alicia designs some great on trend patterns and is super encouraging and helpful to all who create with her patterns.  There is also a Swoon Facebook group filled with Swoon addicts, so if you ever have a question or need an opinion they’re happy to help. Sorry, back to topic, I chose Swoon’s Blanche Barrel Bag (in the small size) I had 2 fabrics I knew I wanted to use so I made 2 bags, each a little different.. I’ll elaborate more down below 😉

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Black Watch Blanche

Blanche is a stunning, rockabilly-inspired barrel bag in three different sizes, 10.5”, 12” and 14” wide.  The materials you’ll require to make your very own are:

  • 2/3 yard 44” wide exterior fabric (1/2 yard for Small Bag)
  • 1 yard 44” wide lining fabric (extra if making piping)
  • 3 yards 5/32” cotton cording (or premade piping)
  • 1 yard fusible fleece (Pellon Thermolam Plus)
  • 3 yards stiff fusible interfacing (Pellon Craft-fuse 808)
  • 1/2 yard fusible stiff stabilizer (Pellon Peltex 71F)
  • 14” all-purpose zipper (11” zipper for Small Bag)
  • 6” all-purpose zipper
  • Four 3/4” metal loops
  • Two 3/4” lobster clasps
  • Two 3/4” D-rings
  • Coordinating thread

It’s rated at a difficulty level of 3 out of 4, meaning you should already be somewhat familiar with sewing patterns and terms.  I think that’s a pretty fair rating, I also think a confident beginner with a bag or 2 under their belt and ready to expand their skills would be able to tackle Blanche. This bag has everything to push you out of our comfort zone slightly, but not enough to make you want to hurl your half finished bag across the room (I’m looking at you AB Weekender)!

I feel like the pattern is laid out well and makes sense with the way I approach bag making. There are detailed explanations throughout the pattern as well as illustrations. I find they’re both thorough, and clear. The illustrations show clearly where to sew, and when measuring 4″ from the top for example, where exactly that measurement should start and end. Also included is a great mini tutorial on how to make the piping for the Blanche, which can be used for piping on any other bag.

piping

I think the hardest part for me are the connectors, there is a tutorial on the Swoon Blog (http://swoonpatterns.com/tutorial-blanche-connectors/) to help with the construction, but even with that mine always seem to come out slightly (or totally) wonky. Keep trying.. you’ll get them! As you can see, I often opt for pre-made handles. I hand stitch them on before adding the lining to the bag so you can’t see the stitching inside. I also left the connectors off the ends of the red bag this time, as I knew I wouldn’t be using a cross body strap for this particular bag. I did add my simplified version of them to the blue bag. I think that’s one of the things I like most about bag making, it’s so easy to customize exactly what you want!

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BlackWatch1

I also added some vinyl to the bottom of the red bag, which isn’t called for in the pattern but it’s pretty simple to do.  I basically split the main body pattern piece to the where I wanted the vinyl and fabric to meet and added ½” on both pieces for seam allowance. You may notice in the pics, my vinyl puckered slightly at the bottom of the bag. I probably should have gone in and ripped the stitches and tried again, but I was nervous about being able to see holes left from the previous stitches so I left it alone. If you decide to go with vinyl go slow, and use lots of clips to make sure it doesn’t shift on you. If you have a walking foot, it’ll be your best friend.

On the blue bag, I added strips just for a different effect. I cut 4 strips 4″ x 10″ and folded them much like you would for handbag straps. I measured 3″ in from each side. I then pinned the handles to the strips, sewed around them and voila! A whole new look! 🙂

One other thing the pattern doesn’t call for, but I always do is after sewing the bottom together, I iron open my seam then top stitch down each side. (It may not need to be said, but I will just in case, don’t iron vinyl!) It can be a little tricky, but I arrange my walking foot inside the zipper opening. Not necessary, but I like the look in the end 🙂

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 As metioned above the interfacing in the pattern calls for 1 yard fusible fleece (Pellon Thermolam Plus), 3 yards stiff fusible interfacing (Pellon Craft-fuse 808),  and 1/2 yard fusible stiff stabilizer (Pellon Peltex 71F). I used ½ yard of Soft and Stable instead (again the small size), my local quilt shops don’t always have the right interfacing products available but Soft and Stable (or Inn Control Plus) is easily found and I use it in all of my bags. I love the look and sturdiness of it.

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One other thing is that, I cut my main panels of the red plaid on the bias just so the plaid pattern wasn’t so linear; I’d suggest not doing that, as it made things shift slightly during sewing. It might not even be noticeable but when I look at the bag I feel like there is something off and that’s the only thing I can guess that happened.

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I’m including a couple of extra pics of other Blanche bags I made, large and small size.. my printer broke on me before I could print the medium size or else you’d have a pic of her too 😉
BlancheLargeCollageSmallBlancheCollage

All in all I think the Blanche Barrel Bag pattern is great, on trend and well written! I think you should give it a try!

Once again, I’d like to thank Sara for this fab opportunity to share my current favourite pattern with you, and to you.. thanks for reading!

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18 thoughts on “Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review : Swoon Blanche Bag

  1. janet says:

    wow. this is my favorite so far. I have been sewing for 53 years, and I hope I am good enough to make this bag – I think it will be a challenge, and I love a challenge.

  2. Great post. Enjoyed your tips about making the Blanche and seeing the variety you have made.

  3. Alane says:

    Amazing. Love both plaid ones. The dark plaid what kind of fabric? Where do you buy your premade handles? Could you tell me how you did you crossbody strap.

    1. wdhandbags says:

      Thanks Alane! The black watch plaid is a suiting fabric I think.. I bought it a long time ago and there’s no selvege info so I’m not 100% sure, I just know it’s not a quilting cotton! I buy my premade handles from Etsy, they’re generally shipped from China.. I was a little wary at first but they’ve all been great. If you want email me (wdhandbags at gmail dot com) and I can give you more specific info. The cross body strap was one I repurposed from another handbag.

  4. Gidget says:

    I look forward to Purse Palooza! Thank you for you expert advise on these patterns!

  5. Lee says:

    I love your design and the plaid!!

  6. lucilledupuis says:

    Classic pattern. Your fabric choices show its possibilities. I will check this one out.

  7. Susie says:

    Your Blanche bags are just beautiful! So well made !! I love your fabric choices and feature placement!
    I’ll have to go check out this pattern!

  8. Norma says:

    They look great on plaid. Very Classy and professional!!

  9. Caitlin Anderson says:

    Wow, a great review Wendy. I am still yet to tackle Blanche but reading this review, she might jump up to the top of my list 🙂

    1. wdhandbags says:

      I hope she does Caitlin! I just love seeing more completed Blanche bags!

  10. Dee says:

    Love this style. Going to check out your blog and also this pattern………..and of course plaid is really a hot item for this fall/winter. Thank you for your review.

    1. wdhandbags says:

      Thanks Dee! My blog has just begun actually! This was the first post 😉 I’m not much of a writer but I’m going to try.. you can check out http://www.facebook.com/wdhandbags for pics of other bags etc.

  11. Shannon says:

    Beautiful! As always, I truly admire your work, Wendy. Would love some info on where to get straps!

    1. wdhandbags says:

      Thank you Shannon 🙂 Very kind words! I usually get them on Etsy.. as I mentioned above they generally come from China which I was a little wary at first but I’ve been impressed quality wise so far. If you’d like to email me I can give you specific names of places I’ve bought from and had success with.

  12. Cindy Sliker says:

    Stunning is truly the adjective to use here!!! You workmanship and awesome fabric choices are terrific, Wendy. You have made a great pattern a true stand-out!

  13. Mokki says:

    I love the fabric choices! This is a really good review. Love the bag. Thanks!

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