Something for Me

Good Morning!

It's been about 3 years since I bought a new purse. I know, about time, right? But I recently got a book that had a purse I loved in it, and I had some heavy weight cotton that would be perfect for a bag, so... I made my own purse! It's the "Dapper Day Bag" from Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee. I didn't use any piping, an applique or a magnetic snap for the closure. So I guess mine is the "lazy version". I really like the way it turned out, though, so I'm ok with that. Plus, I wouldn't want my first piping project to be something like this! I would have been pretty upset if it didn't work out very well.

There are some things I did a little different and some things that I would change if I did it again. One was the strap. It is very wide, which looks really nice in every way except for the way it looks on my not-so-wide shoulder. So at the centre of the strap, I folding the edges under and stitched across the strap. I used a decorative stitch on my machine, but you can barely see it anyways. 

This was just done as a makeshift solution, but I really like the way the strap is folded at the top, but open at the base [in fact, it made me think about making straps on other bags like this!]. 

Another thing I might consider adding is interfacing or fusible fleece. The fabric I used for the shell is a heavier cotton, so it is definitely better than a thin fabric, but the bag is really slouchy when sitting on a table. I prefer a bag that stands up a little more.

I did add two pockets inside, on either side, where the gusset starts. The pattern has no pockets! I really like having pockets for smaller things so that they don't get lost in the bottom of my purse. But I might just have to put some of my stuff in a pencil case/zippered pouch in there so it's easier to find. 

Finally, I would love if it closed with a zipper. I don't know how I would add a zipper, but I'm sure I could figure it out. It isn't a huge deal, because I have the zipper on my purse open most of the time anyways, but I like having the option. 

Oh, and did you notice how the pleats and the polka dots lined up PERFECTLY on the front of the bag? Yeah, that was a total accident! I wish I could say that I planned it that well, but after I finished making the pleats I realized that it worked out so nicely. How lucky!