We’ve been having a blast so far this year with the Bag of the Month Club (our third year!). I’m really excited because March is my month, and my pattern was released exclusively to the club this morning. I introduce you to the Polaris Bag!
If you’re on the fence about the club, I invite you to check out our closed Facebook group and see all the fun the members are having and check out the bags that they’ve made from the club patterns so far!
The Polaris Bag is available in 2 different styles – oval and square. Because I felt that the pattern was relatively straightforward as far as details go (for me as a designer, at least), I decided to offer up both of these options in the same pattern. I made my oval sample in a beautiful soft silver vinyl (I like buying my vinyl from luvfabrics on Amazon) with cotton fabric for the lining, and for the square version, I used Alison Glass ‘Ex Libris’ fabrics for the exterior.
I made sure to snap photos of myself holding the bags so that you could have an idea of the scale. For reference, I’m 5’2″ and on the petite side. While the bags are small, they still hold a good amount and you should be able to fit all of your essentials inside (and then some).
Finished Size: 9” long x 6-1/2” tall x 2-1/2” deep
SUPPLIES
1/2 yard of Exterior Fabric
1/2 yard of Lining Fabric
1/4 yard of foam interfacing (By Annie’s Soft and Stable, Pellon Flex Foam, Bosal In-R-Form, or automotive headliner; if using Flex Foam, it is only 20” wide so please purchase double the amount)
1 yard of 20” wide Pellon SF-101 Shape Flex fusible woven interfacing (or medium-weight fusible interfacing)
Two 1” metal rectangles (you can find these in my shop)
One 6”-7” regular zipper (3# size)
14” zipper (any style zipper is fine, directions will be given for adjusting for zippers with wider tape)
Optional, for adding piping to your bag:
Fat quarter of solid fabric
2 yards of 5/32” cotton cording (I use Dritz Cable Cord)
2 yards Pellon Wonder Under tape –OR- fabric glue for glue basting
I used rivets on my bag (I have a rivet press and use 8mm double-sided rivets), although that is completely optional. I think it adds a bit of flair to a bag! This was the first time that I made a bag entirely of vinyl and it was a lot of fun! The piping is also the same vinyl. I found that the oval bag was really easy with both the vinyl and piping because of the continuous curve (no corners).
The straps for both bags were made from thin vinyl, although I’m really anxious to make another oval bag in the glitter vinyl that I got recently!
The pdf pattern includes 12 pages of instructions, with 33 full-color step photos.
If you haven’t made piping on a bag before, you’ll be able to try out my continuous piping method (you can find a more in-depth piping tutorial here). And there are only 2 pattern pieces to print out (one pattern piece for the oval bag and one pattern piece for the square bag). All the rest of the fabric is cut from rectangular measurements so that you can be really exact with your ruler and rotary cutter!
I had two wonderful pattern testers for this bag, and as usual they didn’t disappoint! All the way from Australia, I present…
Tracy of I’ve Got a Notion really came through with this one! What an unexpected twist of using a neutral linen for the body of the bag and the print for the piping and straps! Genius! The print in the piping really makes that feature stand out, and this piping is perfect!!
Sylvia of Creative Chicky made not one but both versions, including a patchwork square version of the bag! Sylvia teaches at Addicted 2 Fabric in Australia and rightly so as her bags and other projects are always amazing!!
I hope you enjoyed a look at the Polaris Bag! I had a ton of fun making it and look forward to making many more! If you haven’t signed up for the Bag of the Month Club yet, there’s still time!
Sara you never seize to amaze me with each and every bag you create – awesome
This is going to be fun! Love the bag, it’s just the right size for me.
Looking forward to giving these a try and see what I come up with.. Thanks Sara.
I especially love the vinyl bag! I’m uncertain about what weight of vinyl to buy. Would you be able to give me some tips, please. For example, what weight is the silver vinyl you used? I’d love to buy something similar.
I love this bag, after the gigantic February bag, this one will be a great “out to dinner” one.
I really love this bag and cannot wait to make it. Can you give me a little information on the rivet press? What kind do you recommend? What should I look for in a good one? I don’t even know where to start on that. Thanks very much!
Really cool bags! Can’t wait to get started on mine in a couple weeks, when I finish up some other previous commitments.
Sara, I can’t wait to try these out with embroidery on the sides and maybe some suede 🙂 Awesome bag!!
Loving the Polaris, so many options to personalise the design, looking forward to seeing her and learning new skills,,,,,,thank you
I love the oval one. I can see lots of scope for using the front panels as a feature.
When will this bag be available for purchase?