Bags are my second favourite thing to sew (after soft sculptures and softies) and as a consequence I have quite a few. I have little ones for coins and cards, clutch purses for party items -cash and camera etc, I have medium sized bags for everyday essentials, but what I was missing was a large-ish bag for just stuffing things into.
Like when you go to the beach and need a towel and book and sun cream or when you're out shopping and the sales assistant asks if you need a bag for your lovely new outfit and you decline the offer as you delightedly think "pfft, not when I have a snazzy bag to tote around with me!"
I decided after looking through all of my bag pattern books that I needed a new pattern to try. Kinda like when you look through all of the dresses in your wardrobe and find you definitely need a new one for that party.
There is a pattern on U-Handbag that I found years ago when I was just starting out in bag making but I had never tried it. Now was my time, especially as it had an added bonus - it's a free pattern.
The For Pleats Sake Tote is quite a simple tote design. No pockets, no closures, zips or metal hardware. No frills. Quick. Easy. Great.
The pattern itself is just a rectangle for which measurements are given. No printing out or cutting around lots of pattern pieces. It came together quite quickly, partly because of the simplicity of the pattern but also because the instructions were so clear.
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| nice pleats |
The pleats were very easy to create but I think a beginner bag maker may need to slow down and take their time to make sure they get the placement right; particularly on the thicker interfaced layer. The trickiest part was sewing the open 'V' at the side. You have the be very careful and precise about where you lower the needle to start sewing.
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| Open 'V' - the trickiest part of the pattern |
I used a home dec weight fabric for the exterior and a cotton for the lining. I chose to sew simple webbing handles as I had some to hand but this bag would rock with nice leather handles with some metal rings. The fabric was given to me so I'm not sure what it is but the lining fabric feels like poplin. I'm happy to use poplin as bag lining as long as it's interfaced on larger bags. In this case the lining has a fusible fleece interfacing. Also any pockets would need to be reinforced to protect against wear and tear.
Speaking of pockets... this bag doesn't have any. There is nowhere to put a pocket because of the pleats but the pleats are necessary to give the bag nice body so... no pockets.
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| No pockets but space for crochet in the park *happy face* |
Pros:
Simple design, easy to make.
Cons:
I miss having pockets for smaller items like purse and keys.
Conclusion:
I love my new bag and I definitely have a hankering to make more.
*B*
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