Purse Palooza – Pattern Review – Sew Liberated Bohemian Carpet Bag

This post is part of Purse Palooza 2015. For full details and contest rules, check here.
Today’s post is from Stephanie of Swoodson Says.

Hi! I’m Stephanie, I blog & sell toy sewing patterns at Swoodsonsays.com. I was so excited that Sara invited me to join in Purse Palooza, not only because she’s a fellow Midwesterner, but because I bought a bag pattern over 2 years ago and kept putting it off! My sewing skills have come a long way since then, so I thought I was ready for the challenge and this was the perfect motivation.

I sewed up the Bohemian Carpet Bag from Sew Liberated. I’ll share some stats first – the finished bag is 16.5″ wide, .75″ deep, & 16″ tall (excluding the handles).

Required materials:

• 1 & 1/3 yard of exterior heavyweight fabric
• 1 & 1/3 yard of lightweight lining fabric
• 1 yard coordinating heavy weight fabric for corners & straps
• 1 & 1/3 yard of fusible fleece
• 16″ tubular frame
• 1 set of purse feet
• 1″ swivel clasp
• Piece of 1/4″ foamboard measuring 7″ X 17″
• 1 piece 1/3 inch foam, 7″ X 17″
• 7″ zipper

Yikes! Including the pattern, which I bought off Amazon, I ended up spending way more money than I would’ve anticipated. I purchased my frame off Etsy, all notions from Jo-Ann Fabric. The outer ikat fabric is actually a clearance tablecloth from Target, the denim is from Hancock Fabrics, and the lining is a pretty peacock quilting cotton from Jo-Ann’s as well. I used a denim weight needle for everything but the lining steps. The paper pattern has all of the pieces full-size, but you do have to measure for the bottom insert (I used their suggested measurements and it fit great).

The bag has only one pocket, an exterior zippered one that is perfect for sticking a phone into. It isn’t lined, and construction is super fast since the straps cover the raw edges.

It is a great pattern for showcasing large prints! You can’t see the lining when it’s shut, so a perfect spot for something a little wild.

I didn’t even know what a carpet bag was, really (I had picked the bag as a part of an “Anne of Green Gables” challenge, because she carried one), turns out it is this nifty frame feature that pops open and snaps back together. I was very intimidated by the installation step, but you basically just unscrew it, insert it, and screw it back together.

I’m not 100% sure if the joints are supposed to be that exposed, having never seen a “real” carpet bag and the pattern was pretty light on illustrations. But it works well and I like how it looks, so I guess that’s what matters!

The top is folded over to create the casing, instead of sandwiching in a third layer. This was a little bulky to sew, my walking foot was essential.

Purse feet look so classy to me, and they were also way easier to insert than I anticipated.

The pattern calls for a bottom insert with the foamboard and foam; it didn’t mention tacking it down or anything so I think it just remains removable? It gives it a really nice shape.

I was surprised that it included a key fob but no interior pockets. The pattern called for fusible fleece on the key fob strap, which made it insanely thick folded over, I’d definitely just use one layer of interfacing for any future bags.

It’s so big! I’m 5’2, for scale, and this bag is definitely hefty. It would be perfect to haul around a hand quilting project or pack for a day trip. I’m always hauling around a ton of stuff with my two kids, so its first trip out will probably be to the library!

I kept opening and shutting it with one hand – super handy when juggling babies!

Some thoughts on the pattern overall:

• The pattern didn’t include a step for topstitching the zipper, although the bag clearly shows it topstitched in the example.
• When constructing the top of the zipper pocket, the pattern calls to iron each long side down 1/2″, but it should only say one side otherwise it’s too narrow.
• The illustrations are pretty sparse, and don’t show the fabric’s wrong side/right side. The only step I actually felt like I needed an illustration, sewing the lining and exterior together at the “dots” for the side channels, there wasn’t one.
• There are several places where the layers seem unnecessarily thick, such as where the strap pieces join, or when the key fob is flipped over. I’d adjust the fusible fleece so it wasn’t in the seam allowances in these spots.

I’m so proud of my final bag and how it looks, it was nice to have a little challenge, but I’m sure it would be a very quick sew for someone used to sewing purses. It feels good to cross this off my UFO list and I’m having fun browsing all the other reviews for my next bag project!