Amy Butler’s Style Stitches – No. 3 Origami Bag Set

I am going through each bag in Amy Butler’s Style Stitches book for the Sew Along. I’m a bit ahead, as project #3 is not until March, but I’m trying to keep myself going at the sewing machine. I cut into my last bits of these two fabrics…this Gothic Rose (the green) is one of my all-time favorites. The instructions for this pattern make 6 different-sized bags, but I’m not sure I have a use for so many, so I just made two, the small and the extra-large.

Fabrics – I made the small and extra-large sizes, and used 1/2 yard pieces of each of my exterior prints, with plenty of fabric to spare. I used Amy Butler Gothic Rose in burgundy and Amy Butler Garden Maze in red, and the interior is a gray Riley Blake. The pattern also calls for a zipper and woven fusible interfacing.

Pattern Pieces –  There are no pattern pieces to cut out for this pattern. Each size bag has three different rectangular-cuts. If you’re making all 6 bags, Amy Butler recommends that you mark the pieces with masking tape so you don’t get them confused.

Illustrations/Instructions – There are no photos to accompany the instructions in this book. However, there are a few more illustrations this time as opposed to the first two patterns in the book. I think this is particularly helpful when you get to installing the zipper. I’m not sure why, but I see quite often that people are timid about sewing in a zipper. People that make amazing, complicated quilts are afraid of the zipper! But fear not…it’s really much easier than you think. If you can sew two fabrics together, then you can sew in a zipper.

I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern except that I left off the little ‘tab’ on one edge of the bag. I don’t really have a use for something like this, so I spared myself a step in the instructions and left it off.

Pictured below is one of the last steps, making the gussets on the two bottom corners of the bag. I thought it might be helpful for you to see a photo if you have never done a gusset before. Basically you fold the corners in so that they are touching, creating a triangle. The important thing is that you need to line up the two seams so that they are touching, otherwise your seam will not be even. You sew across the line (measurement noted in the pattern), and cut it down to a 1/2″ seam. Easy!

Conclusion – I had a blast making these bags. The first one (the smaller one) took me about 2 hours to make, but I flew through the next one much quicker as I already knew what to expect. These are very cute and useful bags; I’m using the biggest to hold all my quilting rulers, and the smaller one to hold zippers. I would definitely make this bag again if I needed another sewing-supply organizer! This pattern is great for a confident beginner, and a great introduction to sewing in a zipper if you have never done so before.

P.S. I’m posting this for Sew Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday!