Denim Cross Body Small Savannah Bag

I have made several of these Savannah Bags that I reduced in size to 75% and each time I tweak the bag a little differently. This pattern comes from ChrisW Designs and the Savannah is really a large laptop bag pattern (which I made the original size too years ago).

I made this one out of denim and added an applique flower to the flap. I changed the flap on this one a bit too, making it a bit shorter and adding a magnetic snap closure for this bag. I know some people don't like flaps on bags, but I like them and I especially like to be able to feature a fun fabric, applique, painted design or patchwork on the flap so I can add some creative touch to a bag. How about you are you a flap or no flap person? What is your favorite closure? Zipper? Magnetic snap? Twist lock? Or? Inquiring minds want to know.

I like to make a long adjustable strap so that it will accommodate nearly all body sizes.

I love the side pockets. Perfect for keys or a cell phone too.

I like to divide large slip pockets with a pen pocket down the center so you can have easy access to a pen or pencil.

Roomy interior with a zippered pocket on one side and the divided slip pocket on the other side.

I added 7 pockets in all to this bag (including the pen pocket). The laptop larger version has a lot more pockets, but there is no need for that many in a smaller version.

Linking this to Elm Street Quilts Bag It 2017.

I Donated this bag to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022.

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Small Savannah Bag in Bird Fabric

I was commissioned to make another bag. She wanted parrot or bird fabric. I knew I didn't have parrot fabric, but went home to check what I might have that had birds on it. I found this beautiful fabric I had forgotten about. I made another small Savannah Bag (pattern from Chris W Designs, that I made smaller and eliminated several pockets and added a couple of other pockets). It came out great and I even made the flap shorter and added a magnetic snap to the flap to close the bag. I didn't add the accent strip down the center of the flap on this bag because I didn't want to take away from the beauty of the bird fabric. I really like how this bag looks with the changes I made.

I accented the bag with a gold fabric for the gusset and the strap and strap tab. I love the luscious fabric with the fruit and birds. I made the flap shorter and it closes with a magnetic snap.

Back of the bag has a zippered pocket.

Under the flap is another zippered pocket.

I added slip pockets on both sides, with a pen pocket in the center of one. I added a swivel hook for keys too.

Another view of the inside.

I fussy cut out a different bird on each side pocket. The other side is a blue bird.

This is a gift for a friend of the woman who commissioned this bag.

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Small Savannah Bag #4 & Brookfield Bag

I made 2 bags recently on a commission, one is a small Savannah Bag, which is a bag pattern from Chris W Designs that I reduced in size and added a zippered pocket under the flap and eliminated several of the other pockets that weren't needed for this smaller sized bag.

The second bag is the Brookfield Bag that is a a free pattern from Sew Sweetness. I made some changes on this bag too. Funny thing is the instructions say to use 1/2" seams unless otherwise noted on this bag, yet on each step you were instructed to sew a 1/4" seam or 1/8" seam and there was not one time when you even sewed a 1/2" seam! I guess no one caught that when testing this bag, lol!!! I really like this small bag and it will be perfect for a young girl. It's a gift for a 10-year old girl, from the woman who commissioned it.

Baseball fabric was requested for this bag as it's a gift for someone who loves baseball. I didn't have any baseball fabric so I had to purchase some. I found this fabric with the baseball bats and balls and it has a retro feeling to it. I made a magnetic closure for this bag instead of the swivel hook closure. It makes it easier to open and close the flap.

The back of the bag has a zippered pocket.

Inside I added slip pockets on both sides of the bag, one with a pen pocket in the center. I also added a swivel hook to hold keys.

I added a swivel hook to hold keys inside the bag.

I made 2 zipper pulls, one for each zippered pocket.

This is the Brookfield Bag that I made. I used a magnetic snap for the closure of the bag and I used D-rings, but no swivel hooks. I don't like to use swivel hooks on straps. I guess I don't see the point unless there is a reason to remove them. The kind of swivel hooks that I have can get caught on knitwear too if you are wearing a sweater. But the nicer swivel hooks like the kind that most bags makers use don't have a little latch thingee on them like mine do.

This lining fabric is actually a sage green, but looks gray in the photo. The purple accent fabric is much brighter in person too. Royal purple never photographs true, even in the viewfinder of the camera it looks more blue than purple! I didn't make the pocket with elastic as the pattern calls for. I made slip pockets and added a pen pocket in the center of one. I also added a purple trim to the top of the pockets.

This is the back of the bag.

I cut the strap of the bag down quite a bit as it was too long. So I made a key ring fob with the extra strap fabric that I cut off. 

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Small Savannah Bag #3 in Blue with Matching Wallet

When I made a Savannah Bag using a Chris W Design pattern last year, I not only loved how the bag was roomy enough to hold my laptop and so much more, but I loved the shape of the bag. I thought I could reduce the size of the bag so that it would hold my personal things without the laptop, and eliminate the pockets that I didn't need and add pockets that I wanted. My smaller Savannah Bag came out great. My daughter loves messenger style bags and she liked the look of this bag so I made my daughter a small Savannah Bag too in fabrics that she chose. It's one of my favorite bags.

The other day when I stopped by the library where I used to work, one of the librarians asked about making her a larger bag with pockets to hold her phone and keys. I had made a small flat style bag for her several years ago. I told her I would bring in some of the examples of bags that I had made and could make her a custom bag just for her. The next day when I brought in several bags for her to look at she really liked my small Savannah bag. She said she liked blue or purple and left it to me to put together the bag and the colors. I also asked if she wanted a matching wallet and she said sure. So I chose a couple of blue fabrics and added an accent of a purple batik that was the same fabric that I used for the flap of my small Savannah bag. I love the results and Tracie loves it too.

Here is the small Blue Savannah Bag I made. I changed the closure to a tab with a magnetic snap rather that a swivel hook closure.

The purple batik not only accents the center of the flap, but I used it for the 2 side pockets on the gusset too. The pockets will fit keys or a phone nicely.

There is a zippered pocket on the back of the bag.

With a zipper pull that I made to match the bag.

Another zippered pocket that I added in the front of the bag under the flap.

This zipper pull has a purple and blue bead.

The cute lining fabric I chose because Tracie is an animal lover and she especially likes dogs. This fabric was just a happy fabric and I hope she smiles whenever she opens her bag. :0) I also added a swivel hook inside to hold her keys if she wants that is located next to these pockets, but isn't visible in this photo.

The matching blue wallet. I chose the darker blue for the exterior so it wouldn't show the dirt as much. I added the purple accent strip and rounded the wallet corners to mimic the bag flap.

The light blue as the lining and another handmade zipper pull.

I made several changes to the way I made this wallet. You can't see all the changes that I made because most was in the construction. One was a happy accident that turned on the light bulb for me, lol!!! No need to explain and bore you with the details, lol!!!

The matching set. Oh so pretty!

The wallet inside the bag. She looks happy in the bag, don't you think?

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