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Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review: Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote

This post is part of Purse Palooza 2012.
For full schedule of guest post pattern reviews and prizes, click here!

Today, I am excited to bring you a purse pattern review from Meg of Fashioned by Meg! Meg makes a lot of great sewing projects, which you can see on her blog, including a lot of childrens’ clothing lately! There are also some tutorials on the site! Visit Fashioned by Meg and say hello!




1. What materials are needed to make the bag? What type of interfacing did you use?


The pattern calls for home decor or quilting weight fabrics, four sets of d rings, two short zippers, and one long zipper. I used a light weight fusible interfacing for the bag and straps.  For the bottom I used Peltex.



2. What fabrics did you use to make yours?


For my bag I used quilting cottons from Dear Stella’s line, Yard Sale.  I was looking for something cheerful and bright for summer, and these definitely fit the bill!  For the inside I used a solid turquoise from Dear Stella.


2. Pattern Pieces


I made version B of this bag, which is the large bag with a drop down zipper to zip it all up!  I wanted to use tjos bag as a diaper bag, so the zipper was a must for me since I didn’t want all my stuff falling out!


There were about ten or so pieces to cut out, and they were pretty straightforward to cut out.


3. Illustrations/Instructions



This pattern is pretty wordy with some diagrams to help you along.  There aren’t many tricky steps though so the directions were clear enough.  Sometimes I had to read a step a few times for it to get into my head, but that might just be me. ;0p


4. Modifications



I didn’t make any changes really except to the zip top.  I left the ends of the zipper exposed at one end, so that I could add a tab to make it easier to zip shut.  The change I would make if it was to make this bag again would be to shorten the extension panel with the zipper by about half.  I love that I can zip my bag up and keep everything secure but the panels are really big and go half way down the bag!  Also, there are a lot of straps to turn out, so be smarter than me and save your fingers!  Invest in a tool like this or use this tutorial in helping you get them turned quickly!


5. Difficulty Level


I would call this an intermediate pattern.  I think you want to have a couple of bags under your belt and be pretty familiar with zipper installation.


6. Conclusion


I would definitely make this bag again!  I want to make the smaller size next time.  I knew this was going to be a big bag, but this is a really, really big bag.  It is perfect for a diaper bag, but I definitely wouldn’t want to carry it around as an every day bag.  Next time I also want to play around with fabric for the pockets a bit more and break it up a bit! 




Thank you, Sara, for inviting me to blog for Pursepalooza!  I love making bags, and this was the perfect motivation in helping me get a new diaper bag made!

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17 thoughts on “Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review: Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote

  1. KristyLou says:

    Oh my goodness. This looks like the most useful purse-bag I have seen!

  2. Think your bag is great large enough for market a very useful size .
    I would like to make this bag think it is the straps that make it very appealing .

  3. Rosa says:

    This is fantastic to travel.Great job!!

  4. Marci Girl says:

    I bought this pattern 2 weeks ago, and plan to make it soon, though I plan to make the smaller version! Great review, and beautiful bag!

  5. Love your fabric choices! I’ve been wanting to make this bag, too!

  6. Judith says:

    This is a great bag to put my arts and sewing stuff to take on my travels. Judith, Texas

  7. Cherie says:

    Wow the bag does look huge! You could definitely knock someone out with that.
    Love your fabric choices =D

    I’m having a giveaway on my blog. Feel free to stop by and enter (if you haven’t already) =D
    http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/official-150th-post-giveaway.html

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  9. BeeSewSweet says:

    Your bag looks great! I love your fabric choices. Thanks for sharing the review.

  10. TheBeasKnees says:

    This looks like a great pattern! It has been MANY years since I was in art school and I would have loved to have this bag back then! I just may have to make one for myself! Thanks!

  11. Paula says:

    Love the bag!

  12. amy dame says:

    this looks like a fantastic pattern! i’ve been wanting to make myself a large bag to carry my show and tell for quilt guild meetings, so the large size would be fabulous for me. i’d been considering the Carpet Bag by My Favourite Things, updated with funkier fabrics, but i refused to buy another copy of the pattern, i know it’s in my studio somewhere!

  13. hueisei says:

    The bag is awesome. 🙂

  14. Kate says:

    Great bag! Love the fabric!

  15. Kate says:

    Great bag! Love the fabric!

  16. This is a lovely bag with lots of potential!

  17. I realize this is an older post… but I’m making this bag currently. I’m tempted to try shortening the panel and using the outer fabric on the top piece of the panel to almost create a more normal zip top… Curious if this will work. I love your fabric and the tabs you added to the zipper!

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