Serendipity Hip Bag with Straight Top

Last month a woman who worked at a local store saw customer of mine wearing a bag that she bought from me. She inquired about the bag and my customer took down the woman's email and phone number and then through a round about way contacted me through my neighbors. She didn't have one of my cards, but knew a few of my neighbors. So I contacted the woman who wanted a bag made.

She wanted a cross body bag in denim and khaki with a zippered pocket on the front and the back. So I emailed her a few bag photos that I thought fit the description. The Serendipity Hip pattern actually has a curved top, but I have made it in a straight top a few times. The woman liked the straight top better than the curved one, and this was the bag she chose. Next I had to ask about the shade of khaki and denim she wanted, because as you know denim comes in dark and lighter shades and I emailed her a chart I found online showing 6 colors of khaki. Khaki is one of those colors that can be tan to green, light to dark and what I envision in my mind when someone says khaki and denim might not be what someone else has in mind, so I wanted to be clear on the colors. I still didn't get a specific answer back, so I decided to do what I do best and choose the fabrics myself. I was pretty sure she would like what I picked out.

She did seem to like it when she came to pick it up. She wanted this for a trip she was going on. I was pretty darned pleased with how it came out and I really love the denim on this bag and might do some more denim combinations.

Khaki batik print and denim.

Zipper closure and front zipper pocket.

I added a back zippered pocket instead of adding a zippered pocket inside the bag.

Looking down from the top of the bag, above the zippered pocket is a slip pocket and phone pocket inside the larger slip pocket.

Inside I added the 2 credit card pockets with the larger cash pocket behind them.

My signature zipper pulls that I make for zipper pocket and closures.

The Serendipity Hip is a ChrisW Design pdf pattern. Click on the link to see how this bag looks in a curved top. The tester photos are the small ones at the bottom of the larger photo. My tester bag is the pink Eiffel Tower print with black accent fabrics.
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Medium Size Zipper Diamond Pouch

Not too long ago I made the small size Diamond Zipper Pouch. Now here is the medium size Diamond Pouch. This pdf comes with all 3 sizes: small-medium-large and you can make all 3 with 2 fat quarters of fabric if you want a matching set. I wanted to use up some miscellaneous fabric that I had, some leftover fabric from other bags that I had made. So my 3 Diamonds are all different fabrics, but they still shine, lol!

I used a scrap of denim for the lower part of the bag, which looks great with red fabric. My accent is a gold fabric and inside I used a red ticking fabric. Again, since I didn't have a long enough red zipper, I painted the zipper red with fabric paint. It works, so why not?

Both a zipper pocket and a dived slip pocket inside.

I divided the slip pocket with 2 pen pockets on the left side. Or add a nail file in one.

On the left is the small Diamond Pouch I made first, so you can see the size difference. I have the large one made too now, so I just need to post about it another day.

I love these pouches! They open so nice and wide and do not have a frame and you can use 3 fabrics on the front. You can purchase the pdf from Liz of Moments Designs on Facebook. Or email me and I will forward your email to Liz if you want to buy the pdf, in case you are not on Facebook. She will invoice you through PayPay and send the pdf to you within 24 hours of payment.

I will be showing you my large Diamond Pouch here later this week and will have all three in one photo as a size comparison.
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The Allure with Philodendron Leaf Applique

Here is the 4th Allure Bag that I made in a reduced size. (5th Allure total). For this Allure I chose a pink batik fabric and Uncorked fabric. The batik print was large and there was no good way to fussy cut the flap, so I found another batik that was just dark pink and decided to add an applique to the flap. Since the batik was a leaf print, I thought of doing a Philodendron leaf. I had some hand dyed green fabric that I dyed years ago and it looked great with the pink. I placed the leaf so that it overlapped the bottom Uncork fabric flap accent. I really love how this applique and bag turned out! Makes me want to go somewhere tropical to use this.

I will probably sell this bag at the fall craft show. I am still making a few more of these Allure Bags before I do choose the Allure that I want to use. I love them all, so I want to make sure that I choose the right one for me. I do wear a lot of pink like this and royal blue and purple, so what color Allure do I want? I haven't made a purple one yet and I do have a lot of blue bags already. I don't have a pink bag, hmmm....decisions, decisions! See why it's so hard to choose one for myself.

I did sell the first reduced Allure I made, so that takes care of choosing that one. But wait, I could make another one in those exterior colors (don't have any more of that interior fabric), but do I want to make the same color combination? Nah. I usually never repeat the same fabric for the same bag design, so all my bags are truly one-of-a-kind that way. Besides, most of my fabric cannot be purchased anymore because I either bought the fabric years ago, or got it at a de-stash sale and it was probably older stuff from a quilter's stash that isn't for sale anymore. The only new stuff I have is the Uncorked fabric in a few colors.

Okay enough bag making babble from me, lol!!! On to the latest reduced size Allure. The fabulous pdf pattern is from Christine of ChrisW Designs (also available as a video).

Back of bag. You can see here how large the leaf print was and why it wouldn't work on my flap.

Cell phone pocket a the top back of the bag.

Philodendron leaf applique on flap.

Inside is a zippered pocket and a divided slip pocket.

Purse feet on the bottom.

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B.E.S.T Easy Shopping Tote

This B.E.S.T Shopping Tote is a free pdf from Moments Designs. It is a fast and easy sew and you have a useful tote when you are done. You can make it in vinyl, oil cloth, home dec fabric, canvas or whatever is sturdy. It's not lined, so it's quick to sew. All you need is your choice of fabric and some thread.

I had a piece of plain vinyl that I was about to donate because I am not a big fan of sewing with vinyl. In fact I had it ready to take to a thrift shop that day when Liz had posted this pdf on her Facebook page! So I grabbed the vinyl and decided to make this tote.  Vinyl sews easily enough, but it also stretches which I don't like and I cannot press it. I am a cotton fabric sewing kind of gal. But this was a perfect use for the vinyl. It's a rather plain looking bag, but probably suitable for a man who shops.

The other side of this vinyl is a flannel material. So it looks lined,  but it's not lined.

I was given this large piece of oil cloth and was waiting to find the right bag to make. Along came BEST Shopping Tote, which was the perfect use of this oil cloth, so I made this one too. I liked the oil cloth much better for sewing and it's prettier too! I have a large scrap left from making this bag, so I will make a smaller version to use it all up.

I had to piece the bottom piece to make it large enough, but that was easy to do.

The vinyl bag was Donated to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022.

The floral bag SOLD.

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Diamond Pouch Size Small

I needed to finish up several projects I had started before I got this pdf from Moments Designs, but I kept seeing so many cute Diamond pouches on Liz's Facebook group that it was too hard to resist making one of these pouches. On Tuesday morning I did cut out the quilt blocks I needed for a baby quilt I am making and while I was already cutting stuff out, I decided to cut out the fabric and interfacing needed for all 3 sizes of Diamond Pouches.

Did I start sewing the baby quilt together you might ask? Well no, because the Diamond Pouch was calling me, lol!!! So yes Liz I caved!!! This is the small size Diamond Pouch I made yesterday. The pdf comes with 3 sizes: small, medium and large. The next question will be, will I make the other 2 sizes before sewing the baby quilt? Maybe is all I will say on that. I might just sew a little on the quilt and then start the medium pouch next.

The Diamond Pouch is a great shape and Liz always has something in her patterns that I learn that is new to me. I love this pouch and will be making more after I make the medium and large to see if I prefer one of those sizes best. The nice thing is these pouches can be made with fat quarters or scraps that are large enough. I cut this small one out of scraps I had and it didn't take much fabric for the small size. The large one I cut out of larger odd shaped scraps from another project. So after making some larger bags, the scraps might be perfect for making some Diamonds.

Some of the ladies on the FB group made these Diamonds into cross body bags by adding strap tabs, rings and a strap. Another added wings to the sides and a strap and made a waist pack (aka fanny pack...remember those?).  I see making a selvage one in my future. I love a bag that you can make your own.

Since Craftsy became Bluprint and deleted most of Liz's pdf patterns (and she can't add new ones), she is selling from her FB page through PayPal. Her FB group is a closed group, but you can join it by clicking on this link. If you want to purchase this pdf and you are not on FB, you can contact me and I will contact Liz letting her know you want her Diamonds pdf and then she can contact you directly. You can also leave me a comment, but if you don't hear back from me, you could be a no-reply meaning I do not have your email address. Or you can join the Moments FB page yourself.

The pouch opens nice and wide and doesn't need any frame.

Inside the small is a zippered pocket. The other sizes have zippered pocket and a slip pocket. Since this is small, it doesn't need a slip pocket. 

Did you notice my zipper closure? I didn't have the right color zipper in the length that I needed, so I grabbed some fabric paint and painted the outside of my zipper! Yep, that is why the zipper from the inside looks paler. Hey when in need, do what you can. I think it looks better than a white zipper, which is what I had. In fact, I also painted the medium and large zippers too. That's one way to use up white zippers, lol!!!
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Clydesbank Tote Large Size

I made the Clydesbank Tote, a free Sew Sweetness pdf and video, in the large size. I didn't care for the handles on the pattern, so I added rings and rivets to make the handles instead. The large is quite a large bag and would be great for a knitting or crochet bag or anything you need a large tote for.

I used this denim bling fabric and a linen like fabric for the sides of the bag. The bag stands up nicely because of the foam stabilizer used in the bag, however there is no foam on the sides of the bag. I am thinking it would have been more bulk or more difficult to sew if foam had been added to the sides? I am not sure exactly, but followed the instructions of using interfacing on the sides only.

It's a cute bag and very roomy. The bag measures large 13” wide x 21-1/4” tall x 5” deep.

I think this fabric would be a perfect choice for a teen aged girl or anyone who loves blue jeans.

You can see how wide the bag is here.

I added a slip pocket inside and made 2 pen pockets on the left. Or use it for a crochet hook or short knitting needle?

A zippered pocket is inside the bag too. In fact the directions call for 2 zippered pockets, but I prefer to add one zippered pocket and one slip pocket for variety.

You can see the magnetic snap at the top and that is how this bag closes. The directions are actually for adding a recessed zippered closure to the bag, but I didn't have the right size or color zipper, so I did a magnetic snap instead.

The bottom of the bag is the same material as the bag sides and purse feet were added.

This bag was DONATED to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022.

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The Allure Bag (reduced size) in Turquoise-Green-Gold Print

This is my 4th Allure bag in a reduced size (5th Allure total). I just love this style bag! The reduced size, the shape, the flap, the accent of Uncorked fabric that I use, the phone pocket, the cross body adjustable strap, slip pocket and zippered pocket all equal a gorgeous bag! Thanks to designer Christine of ChrisW Designs for designing such a great bag and I will give myself  pat on the back for figuring out how to use Uncorked fabric instead of real cork, vinyl or leather.

I am making a lot of these to stock up for the shows I will be selling at in the fall. I may list a few to sell on Etsy too. I only list my items once on Etsy. If they don't sell within the 4 months of the listing fee I pay, then I do not relist them. So if you ever see something in my Etsy shop you like, you had better buy it because it won't be there again. I will sell locally instead of relisting items on Etsy. I know it's hard to find me on Etsy, even when people do a search for an item and list the same keywords I list, I might be hundreds of pages away, so my stuff doesn't get seen often. I have to be a top seller for my things to show up in the first few pages and by the time that happens, if it ever happens, I will probably be retired from making and selling my bags. So get them while you can, lol!!!

Okay back to my latest Allure bag. I used a turquoise, green and blue print with metallic gold highlights. I accented the bag with natural Uncorked fabric. I used bronze hardware.

I added my strap tabs this way instead of riveting them to the side of the bag. That was the hardest part of making this bag was fiddling with riveting the straps on the side of the bag. Mostly because I was dealing with the finished bag which has shape and  thickness and it was difficult to line it all up and press the rivets. So I decided to change this to make my life easier. It stills looks great this way.

Phone pocket is on the top back of the bag.

Back side of the bag.

A slip pocket with a pen division.

A zippered pocket inside too.

I am going to try making another Allure this size without a flap and add a zippered closure to see how that looks. I love the look of the flap, but a lot of women like zippered closures, so I will give it a go and see what happens.

(This bag has SOLD).
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