Purse Palooza – Pattern Review – Cozy Nest Layla Bag

This post is part of Purse Palooza 2015. For full details and contest rules, check here.
Today’s post is from Nancy of Baby Rozen Design.

Hello everyone! My name is Nancy Spaulding from Baby Rozen Design. I haven’t had much time to sew lately, so this was a fun project! Thank you for having me Sara!

Today I decided to share my pattern review of The “Layla” Bag by Sarah of Cozy Nest Designs. You can find this and her other patterns on Craftsy as well as on her website.

I was lucky enough to test this pattern for Sarah before it was released, and I fell in love with the shape of the bag as well as the gorgeous oval bag handles! Sarah also included instructions on how to sew the handles without the hardware if you opt out of using them. If you love them like I do, you can purchase the bag hardware needed at 2 different locations:  Emmaline Bags, and at Bobbin Girl.

I love how detailed Sarah’s pattern instructions are, and they are always professionally written. She has She even includes extra printable labels so that you can keep all your pattern pieces organized after cutting them. This Pattern calls for Basic Sewing Skills even though it looks like it might be difficult, it truly isn’t! All you have to do is follow her instructions, and you won’t have any problem…You will be impressed what you can do just by following the instructions.  That being said, I read  “glanced” over the page on making the handles (lol), and cut the ovals out before I was supposed to; however, I was able to save my almost blunder. J

The Layla Bag Pattern has the following finished dimensions and list of Supplies:

Sizing / Finished Measurements:

• 14 1/2 w x 6 3/4 h (not incl. handles) x 3 1/2″ d

Materials:

• 1 – Zipper – at least 14″(36cm) long – all purpose or size of choice for top closure
• 1 – Zipper – at least 9″(23cm) long – all purpose for interior pocket
• 2 – D-rings – wide enough to fit a 3/4″(2cm) strap
• 2 – Swivel hooks – wide enough to fit a 3/4″(2cm) wide strap
• 1 – 3 1/4 x 12″(8x30cm) piece – Plastic canvas to reinforce bottom (optional) *I did not use this
• 4 – Purse feet (optional) *I did not use this
• 1/4″(6mm) Fusible web tape- double sided – for inserting zipper & handle) *I did not use this… I used Fabric Tac instead
• Fray Check
• Walking foot (optional) * I did not use one
• 1 set – Oval handle hardware* (for handle option 2 – see below)
• Main: 1/2 yard* (.5m) – 44″(112cm) wide- for exterior bag and shoulder strap. Suggested: light to heavy weight home decor or *quilt weight cotton (what I used)
• Contrast/Lining: 5/8 -3/4 yard*(.6-.7m) – 44″(112cm) wide for handles & lining (amount dependent on handle option selected. Suggested: light to medium weight home decor or *quilt weight cotton (what I used)
• Foam Stabilizer: 3/4 yard (.7m) – 20″(51cm) wide. Suggested: PellonFlexFoam (FF-77) (this is what I used, although you could use the single-sided Fusible Flex-Foam as well), Soft & Stable from by Annie(r), or auto headliner
• Medium-weight Interfacing: 2 yards (1.85m) – 20″(51cm) wide. Suggested: Pellon Soft-Flex SF101
• Handle Hardware: The handle grommets featured in the cover photo are 4 5/8 x 2 3/4″ (119x69mm) exterior & 3 3/4 x 1 3/4″(70x44mm) interior.

Construction:

For this project, I decided on using some of my Amy Butler and my Joel Dewberry fabric together.As I mentioned before, I made a mistake when creating my handles because I didn’t “read”… I cut out the ovals before I was supposed to, and thank goodness I was able to fix them. You can see in the photo where I had cut out the ovals before sewing the pieces of one handle together.

After fixing my mistake, it was time for one of my favorite things to do when making this bag…test fitting the bag handle hardware. The hardware really makes the handles stand out, and they look so professional…and SHINY!

One of the biggest tips that I could give to you when working on this bag is to be sure to transfer all the markings onto your fabric that are shown on the pattern pieces. This will ensure that everything lines up and fits just how it is supposed to in the end when assembling your pieces together. You can see in the image above where I have made a little pen mark to denote the middle of the long flat edge on the piece. Just be sure to keep your markings within the seam allowance if using a regular pen as I did so that it will never be seen on the finished bag. You could also use chalk, disappearing ink, etc. to make your marks. I only used the ink pen because my Chaco-liner had “run” away again.

Next you attach the handle pieces to the exterior body pieces, and this is where it gets really exciting! You can see basically how your bag is going to look at this point. I think that my Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry prints worked great together for this project.

As you can see in the picture above, I basted my Flex Foam to my exterior fabric as per the instructions. This is where you could also use “Quilt Basting Spray”, or even use Pellon’s single-sided Fusible Flex-Foam with the same results. I did use the Quilt Basting Spray later to baste my Flex Foam to the Gusset as well as the zipper gusset main panel pieces…I was very happy with how well it held them together instead of basting them.

The rest of the pattern is also very detailed and precise as to where, and when to place everything. As you work your way through the pattern, most of the foam is cut away from the seam allowances to reduce the bulk. And it looks so much better with it removed.  I did use Fabric –Tac glue pretty much any time that it called for the fusible web tape in the pattern. As long as you follow the instructions, making the zipper gusset/gusset circle and attaching them to the main body/handles was so easy.  I also like to double stitch (and sometimes triple-stitch) all of my seams together for added strength as I tend to load my purses down quite a bit…and I want to know that it will hold up to my “demands”.

I then gave a good press on all the seam allowances after it was finished to help get a sharper edge to the shape of the body. I did change one thing though when creating my shoulder strap. Instead of cutting it down to the size in the pattern, I left it the full width of the fabric. This allowed me enough extra length to carry it cross-body.  With my active toddler, I need my hands to be free quite often, so this modification was a must for me!

I think the hardest part of the entire pattern was probably just attaching the drop-in lining correctly. I work on a 1951 Singer 201-2… so I do not have a free-arm machine to help maneuver the fabric around to attach it. It really didn’t matter though, because honestly, the Flex Foam is so forgiving that you can’t even tell that I had a wrestling match with my bag for a bit. J

It was pouring here just as I was starting to try to take pictures, but I did manage to get a couple before I was forced to go back inside.

Here is also a picture of my new “Layla” bag getting ready to go on a test run with me on our trip for the next 3 days at Jay Peak in Vermont. I think she turned out beautifully, and I can see making several of these as special Christmas gifts.  I almost made this out of Halloween-themed fabric, but I wanted to be able to use it all year, so I opted to make it match my NCW wallet (Emmaline Bags) instead.  So happy that I did!I just love it!

Thank you for having me on your Blog Sara! And thank you to Sarah from Cozy Nest Design for the wonderful pattern!

I hope everyone has a very Happy Halloween this weekend! Be safe and have fun!