Parcel Pattern #7 Handbags Blog Tour

Hello friends, followers and visitors, I am participating in the Parcel Pattern Blog Tour, which is for handbags this month. I could choose any of the 6 bags that are part of this tour to make. Well since I have already made 3 of the bags before, Evelyn, Midtown Messenger and the Butterfly Sling, I decided to make the Betty Bowler Bag by Swoon. If you want to see the 2 Evelyn bags that I made please go here and here. The Midtown Messenger Bag I made is here. The Butterfly Sling I made is here.

Below is a collage of all the bags in this parcel. At the end of this post you will find out how you can purchase the Pattern Parcel #7 and more information how the Pattern Parcels work. Some of the proceeds goes to charity, so this is a worthwhile cause too.

Below is the Betty Bowler Bag that I made. I did made a few small changes to my bag. I quilted my bag using a variegated thread and I used headliner foam. I also didn't add the center 2 stripe fabrics because I thought this bag was just asking for a couple of outside slip pockets, so I added one on each side between the handles. I wasn't sure how tall I wanted the pocket, so I based the pocket size on the large stripe of fabric and just folded it in half. I added interfacing to the pocket and a lace trim too. It looks like I could have made the pocket taller, but it's actually a good pocket depth as it is. Another change I made was to make the zipper tabs that you grab on to for zipping and unzipping the bag a bit larger. I don't have large hands, but the tabs seemed a bit too small to me. The large long pocket that is in the inside of the bag I divided in half to form 2 pockets as one long pocket seemed a bit too much. None were difficult changes to make. I really like the shape and size of the Betty Bowler. It's a great size bag for using as an overnight bag or even a diaper/nappy bag. For my purposes it will make a nice knitting or sewing project bag to take to my groups. The instructions were well written and the only difficult part for me was doing the piping because I used store bought piping and I had to adjust to where to place it or it would have been enclosed into the seams. That's the one thing the pattern doesn't tell you where to place your piping on the fabric pieces if using a store bought piping.

The Betty Bowler front side with zipper pocket and I added a slip pocket with lace trim too.

I made my zipper grab tabs larger (wider and longer) than the instructions tell you to because I thought at 1/2" wide they were a bit too small to grab a hold of for me.

I always make my own beaded zipper pulls. This one is on the front pocket.

This is the main zipper pull.

Inside is a long slip pocket that I divided into 2 sections because I thought a divided pocket was more useful to me.

The back of the Betty Bowler is the same except there is no zippered pocket here.

Parcel #7 includes:

• Barcelona Bag and Wallet by Pat Bravo 
• Butterfly Sling Purse by Emmaline Patterns 
• Evelyn Handbag by ChrisW Designs 
• Midtown Messenger Bag by Betz White 
• Betty Bowler by Swoon Sewing Patterns 
• BONUS PATTERN: Daphne Bag by Clover & Violet 

Bonus Pattern:

Choose a price of $32 or greater for Parcel #7 and you will automatically also be sent the Bonus Pattern! That's just over $5 a pattern. The Bonus Pattern for this Parcel is the brand new Daphne Bag pattern from Clover & Violet. The Daphne is a slouchy satchel that can be worn cross body or as a shoulder bag. The zip top keeps your gear secure and the internal pockets keep your accessories where you need them. This is a brand new, never been seen before pattern and is an exclusive opportunity for Parcel #7 customers!

 How Pattern Parcel Works: Here at Perfect Pattern Parcel, we believe in supporting independent pattern designers. It’s our opinion that indie patterns are just, well, better than big box patterns, and we’re pretty sure our customers think so too. So, we allow customers to show their support in naming their own price for each Parcel. We also encourage customers to allocate part of their Parcel price to the charity Donorschoose.org in order to help classrooms in need. Pattern Parcel donates all profits after expenses from Parcel sales to the charity as well. Its our goal to raise over $20,000 for Donors Choose this year.

Be sure to drop by all the participating blogs to see which bag(s) were made:

Friday, November 7 Stitched || Sew Exhausted

Saturday, November 8 Made by Sara ||Oliver's Fancy || Strawberry Patch Ramblings

Sunday, November 9 from a box || Mia's Creations || MOMENTS

Monday, November 10 owen's olivia || While she was sleeping

Tuesday, November 11 Nutta || Radiant Home Studio || La Pantigana

Wednesday, November 12 Sew Fishsticks || Stacy Sews || Stitching Insane || GnomeAngel

Thursday, November 13 Needle and Ted || Patchouli Moon Studio || Sprouting JubeJube || The Crazy Tailor

Friday, November 14 Casa Crafty || A Jennuine Life || 'So, Zo... What do you know?'

Saturday, November 15 Stitches by Laura || Rebekah Sews || Serger Pepper

Sunday, November 16 Blogs Like A Mother || Vicky Myers creations || Blossom Heart Quilts

Monday, November 17 Shanni Loves || So Sew Easy || GYCT Designs || Tiger In A Tornado

Tuesday, November 18 The Nosy Pepper || Keep Calm and Carrion || There & Back || Sewing Sober

Wednesday, November 19 Sew Like My Mom || Knot Sew Normal || Stacy Sews || sewVery

Thursday, November 20 Mimi's Mom || Our Family Four || shades of BOLD || Modern Handcraft

Friday, November 21 Shawnta Sews || Lulu & Celeste || Amanda Rose || Robin's Fabric Nest || House of Pinheiro
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Midtown Messenger Bag

The April Bag from the Bag-of-the-Month Club is the Midtown Messenger Bag designed by Betz White. I made some changes as usual.

I  used my scraps of brown fabrics to create a quilt-as-you-go (qayg) flap to the messenger bag.

Instead of sewing accent strips down the flap I chose to add some rickrack for an accent and added French knots. A decorative stacked button in the center. I used a magnetic snap in the center because I didn't have thumb catch closures. Plus I think it's easier to access inside the bag with a magnetic closure rather than the 2 thumb closures.

I used one D-ring and sewed the other end of the adjustable strap in to the side gusset on the other side, instead of using another ring.

A fun cat print for the lining. A large slip-in pocket is under the flap in the front.

A recessed zipper under the flap. I added a zipper tab on both ends of the zipper so that I have something to grab onto when zipping.

Inside the bag is also a pocket that is padded with batting for holding a tablet. I don't have a tablet though.

Here is the tablet pocket opened. I added a snap closure rather than a Velcro closure.

Here is the snap on the tablet pocket.

The back of the bag has a large slip-in pocket. 

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