Purse Palooza – Pattern Review – Venna Tote

This post is part of Purse Palooza 2015. For full details and contest rules, check here.
Today’s post is from Heather of The Sewing Loft.

Hello Sew Sweetness Peeps! I’m Heather from The Sewing Loft and one of my favorite things to do is share simple tips to help improve your everyday sewing.

I was thrilled with Sara asked me to join the Purse Palooza fun and when I mentioned it in passing to my girls they both jumped up to help out. Before I knew it my younger daughter had selected a pattern and fabrics from my stash. Clearly, I could not say no.

Her selected pattern of choice is the Venna Tote from the book Just for You by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchfield & Sarah Markos. Since I love quick hitter projects, this bag was perfect. I quickly checked the math and realized that with an additional seam or two, her fabric selections were prefect.

Sarah’s quick tip worked like a charm to keep my handles from rippling.

Pockets-

Instead of using a pre-package double-fold bias tape along the top edge of pockets, I cut a piece of straight grain in contrast fabric and applied it in the same manor. Basically, I wanted to keep everything within my daughters fabric selections.

I’m not gonna lie, applying the pockets was a challenge for me. Not the actual sewing part just the application. The instructions mentions that there will be some gathers along the pocket but the perfectionist in me wanted it to lay flat or have some sort of clear pleats. In the end, I gave in and reminded myself that this was the bottom of the pocket, a place that no one would see inside the bag.

I added a dog ear reinforcement stitch at each corner to make sure the pockets would stay no matter how much they were loaded up.

Sarah’s quick tip for keeping the handles nice and flat was perfect. But somehow during the attaching process I must have been distracted because my friend the ripper came out. With the help of some chocolate, it was no big deal!

Additional Notes:

To give the bag a solid base, I created a false bottom with some ultra stiff plastic canvas. I just made a simple cover and slide it right inside. You can buy plastic canvas at your local arts and craft supply store in the yarn section.

The Venna Tote bag is the perfect project for a Sunday afternoon session behind the machine. It is a start to finish stress free project with tons of instant gratification.

Now, I know that I promised this bag to my daughter but I told her I need to take it for a “test drive” at quilt market this week. You know, just to make sure it’s perfect. 😉

If you’re heading to market, please be sure to stop me and say hello if you spot this bag on the floor. Otherwise, you can follow my adventures on Instagram or visit me on the blog for plenty of easy sewing tips & projects.