hi! i’m Rachael, and you can find me most days of the week over at imagine gnats, where i blog about all things stitchy. i’m so glad to be back for my second year of Purse Palooza!! for my post, i reviewed the green living market bag by Bari J.
materials required: approximately 1-1/4 yards fabric total plus interfacing for straps (less than 1/4 yard).
pattern pieces: the pattern does not include any pieces to cut out. as it is designed to fully utilize the full width of fabric, you need only to cut large rectangles to start.
illustrations/instructions: the pattern includes adequate written instructions along with illustrations to show more complex steps. the pattern also includes helpful sewing tips and a sewing term glossary.
modifications:
when creating the boxed bottom of the bag, i folded the excess fabric to the interior of the bag instead of folding it up and stitching to the side of the bag. i then added two layers of kraft•tex™ to add stability to the base of the bag.
i omitted the ribbon tie (mostly because i didn’t have any ribbon on hand that looked good with these fabrics).
the strap is interfaced with Fusible Thermolam® Plus, which is a bit thicker than i would normally use, and i love how it turned out! the straps are super soft and sturdy. that said, turning them caused a few more “utterances” than it might have if i used something a little thinner.
difficulty level: i think this pattern is beginner appropriate.
i absolutely recommend this pattern! i wanted to make it because it seemed like a good combination of cute and practical. while we have a whole drawer full of reusable bags here (and certainly weren’t in need of another), i’m really looking forward to using this one! plus it’s a great size for those small grocery trips that end up a little bigger than you thought they would 😉 and because of the french seams, the bag construction is solid enough to hold up under a full load.
if you give this pattern a try, i’m sure you’ll be pleased with the results. the green living market bag pattern is available here as a pdf or here in paper form.
thanks again to Sara for having me… i can’t wait to see all of the rest of the purses that everyone is stitching up!
xo, rachael
Nice review, Rachael. Love the fabrics, too. And Congrats to your gentleman friend for posing for “Purse Palooza”!
I like your additon to the bottom base. It holds the shape really nicely.
Like the bottom shape. Cute fabrics.
Purse palooza is so much fun!!!
such a useful bag but those bottoms are beyond me, have tried a couple of times but I do not have the knack!
Oh the polka dots are so cute! And I love the way you did the bottom of the bag. I’ve never heard of that stuff?
Ha, Mr Gnats doesn’t look entirely convinced by this bag modelling gig :oD