Purse Palooza – Pattern Review – Sew Sweetness Rockstar Bag

This post is part of Purse Palooza 2015. For full details and contest rules, check here.
Today’s post is from Kristy of Rock Baby Scissors.

Hey, guys! I’m Kristy, the gal behind Rock Baby Scissors. Being asked by Sara to participate in this year’s Purse Palooza was such an honor. Not only do I enjoy bag making (probably to a degree out of the realm of sanity) but I admire Sara’s work a great deal. If you follow my work at all, you already know how much I adore Sara’s Rockstar Bag pattern, so there was never any question in my mind what today’s post would be about- The Rockstar Bag!

Pattern
The Rockstar Bag pattern is 23 pages long with plenty of colorful photos showing every step along with excellently written instructions. The bag assembly is very efficient and I never got the feeling like I was jumping all over the place like you do in some patterns. The Rockstar Bag is the perfect size for every day use; not too big, not too small. I really like the two options for carrying the bag; either over-the-shoulder with the long strap or by the short handles which are perfect to hold by hand or in the crook of your elbow.

The exterior flap features a small zipper pocket and opens up to reveal a large slip pocket. The flap secures closed with a magnetic snap. The front pocket finishes at 6.5″ x 6.5″ so it’s the perfect size to hold your cell phone and keys while you can store small goodies in the zipper pocket within the flap. I use mine for my lip balm. The interior features two zipper pockets.

The finished bag size is: 12″ wide, 10″ tall, 7″ deep

The pattern can be found here https://sewsweetness.com/products/rockstar-bag for $9.

Supplies
I chose to use prints from the new “Story” collection from Carrie Bloomston- Newspaper in Indigo, Half Moon Circle in Indigo, Stars in Hot Pink and Constellation in Mustard. I kept my top zipper and piping neutral since the fabric and leather brought plenty of color to the bag.

Other materials needed for your Rockstar Bag:

• Your fabric, 3/4 yard exterior and 1 yard interior
• Leather or vinyl for handles if you’re not using cotton
• 3 yards light-weight fusible woven interfacing. I use Pellon SF101
• 1 yard Pellon Flex Foam or 1/2 yard ByAnnie’sSoft and Stable
• 11″ x 4.75″ Peltex or Plastic Canvas for bottom stability (optional but I highly suggest using it)
• Four square rings or D-rings for connectors
• Two D-rings for side connectors
• Two swivel clasps for the shoulder strap
• Four purse feet
• One 11″ or longer zipper
• One 7″ or longer zipper
• Two 9″ or longer zippers
• One magnetic snap
• Piping
• Rivets (optional)

If you’re using pre-made piping like I usually do, you’ll notice that I didn’t overlap mine at the bottom. I used the method you can find on this page towards the end of the sew-along.

I’ve used leather or vinyl for the handles on all of my Rockstar Bags, which means attaching them is a little different than cotton handles. I use Fabric-Tac glue to hold the connectors in place, work on another part of the bag for a few minutes, then come back and stitch my connectors on once the glue dries somewhat. It doesn’t need to be completely dry, just dry enough so the pieces don’t move easily.

Modifications
I’ve made some modifications here and there to past Rockstar Bags. I’ve added length to the leather handles so they could be worn over-the-shoulder in place of the long strap. I’ve played around with the placement of the front pocket flap, making it higher or lower to see what I liked best. I’ve converted three of them into drop-in linings, which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve made many Swoon Bags.

I also bind my interior seams the same as you would a quilt. I cut two 2.25″ strips, press in half and stitch the raw edge of the strip along the raw edge of my bags side seams. After that’s finished I wrap it around so it covers the raw seam, then stitch that side in place. If you’re new to quilt binding you can see the method here.

I usually use the lining fabric for my binding but I used the pink stars here so the binding would stand out in the photo.

Review
It took me a few months to make my first Rockstar Bag after buying the pattern. I was quite intimidated, but after the first I was hooked. With its unique triangular shape and easy construction, it quickly became my favorite. As of this post I’ve made 23. The first took roughly seven hours from start to finish, but I’ve managed to scale that back to four. What I love most about this bag design is the ability to feature multiple fabrics along with vibrant leather colors.

I’d rate the difficulty as Intermediate. As long as you can follow instructions you should be good to go!

You can see more of my work here: http://rockbabyscissors.weebly.com/
And here: https://instagram.com/rockbabyscissors/