Announcing Purse Palooza 2013!!
I am happy to be participating in
Purse Palooza this year with a special purse sewing pattern review! Here's how the event works:
1. Every weekday from September 30th - October 25th, there are 2 amazing guest bloggers scheduled to
share with you a purse sewing pattern review. None of the purses reviewed from the
event last year are being reviewed again, so these will be fresh sewing pattern reviews! The review will contain
detailed information about what I thought about the sewing pattern,
modifications I made, what kind of interfacing I used, and more!
Get inspired!
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| Aeroplane Bags |
2. Even more exciting...
THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY EVERY WEEKDAY DURING THE EVENT! That's right,
20 GIVEAWAYS!
3. At the end of the event, you will get a chance to show me your purse in order to win some amazing prizes! Of course, international entries are welcome too!
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| Dot Dot Dash Bag |
September 30 - Sara - Sew Sweetness (Serendipity Studio - Media Frenzy Camera Bag)
Joanna -
Tutinella (Oliver + S Messenger Bag)
Angela -
AngelaB (Amy Butler Sophia Bag)
Ali -
a2w (Melly and Me Sleepover Bag)
October 10 - AnneMarie -
Gen X Quilters (Michelle Patterns Strap Clutch)
October 15 - DeeAnn (Rebecca Lambert Corduroy Patchwork Bag)
Emily -
EmmmyLizzzy (Pleated Beauty from Bend the Rules Sewing)
October 18 - Jess -
Elven Garden (Emmaline Necessary Clutch)
Joanna -
Shape Moth (Emmaline Boyd St. Bowling Bag)
October 23 - Teresa -
Crinkle Dreams (Drop Top Messenger Bag from Stitch Magazine)
October 24 - Kay -
Miss Print (Amy Butler Birdie Sling)
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| Lapin Noir Bag |
Contest Rules
1. Check out all the purse pattern reviews throughout the month and get inspired to sew up a purse of your own!
2. Link up your completed purse on the
Purse Palooza 2013 page BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 30th AND NOVEMBER 11th. Your
purse must be created and photographed between those dates; purses made
prior to September 30, 2013 will be disqualified. The purse may be of your
own design, or made from a sewing pattern. You can link from Flickr, your blog post, or wherever else you host your photos.
3. There is no limit to how many purses you may enter, as long as they were made between September 30th and November 11th. Only one link-up per purse please.
*
Note: Besides bags and purses, for this event also acceptable are clutches, backpacks, wallets, etc.
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| Greenbacks Wallet Trio |
Prizes
This year, there will be 1st-4th prize winners chosen from all those that submit a purse during the event. There will also be a randomly-drawn winner out of everyone who enters!
1st prize - 4th prize will receive an AWESOME prize pack courtesy of
Pat Bravo, genius fabric designer extraordinaire! The prize packs will each include 3
Pat Bravo sewing patterns (La Boheme Skirt, Barcelona Bag, and Capri Bag), a pack of Pat Bravo
Aurifil Threads (thread pack may vary, as there are 3 different packs), and 10
Pat Bravo fat quarters (fat quarters may vary).
In addition, the 1st prize - 4th prize winners will also receive a copy of Sara Lawson's new book,
Big-City Bags!! The book releases November 5th, and you can
pre-order your book now!
Retail value of each prize pack: $127.
There will also be one randomly-drawn winner out of all purses entered, and this winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to my publisher,
Martingale (as well as a copy of Big-City Bags!).
Retail value of prize pack: $77.
Judging
Purse Palooza will be judged this year by Kay Whitt of
Serendipity Studio. Kay writes the most stylish and fun-to-sew clothing patterns and bag patterns out there.
Thank you to all of the wonderful sponsors that are supporting this event!
Grab a button!!
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.sewsweetness.com/2013/09/purse-palooza-2013.html" title="Sew Sweetness"><img src="http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/bluemerleboutique/pursepalooza12.jpg" alt="Sew Sweetness" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
So when Sara asked me if I wanted to join in on this I was super excited! Of course I said yes and then came the hard part.....choosing a bag that I liked and that hadn't already been done before. Sara passed on a list with a few links in it and I came across a shop that I loved!! It is on Etsy and is by Emma Brennan and is called Charlie's Aunt. She makes vintage inspired purse patterns that are super cute!! I picked the Anglia Bag and love it!!
The next challenge was to find the fabric to use. It calls for wool or other heavy fabric. I wasn't sold on that type of fabric- nothing wrong with it but not quite my style either. I came across this wonderful fabric from Hawthorne Threads and knew it was what I wanted to use. It is called Stamped Flowers in Lime and Leaves in Lime and Navy from the Pure Collection by STOF House Desinger. I then matched it with some Nautical Blue Kona and Aurifil #2784.
This is quilt weight cotton, so to make up for not being as heavy I interfaced it with Pellon 911FF which is my go to for bags. It is a heavy weight interfacing and gives it body. I also used Soft and Stable by Annie instead of the quilted batting to give it extra stability. I used this in the straps, front and back body of the bag, pocket, flap, and tab. I also didn't feel the need to use a false bottom because of the soft and stable.
For the button I used one from my local quilt shop. It was bright red and by Confetti. The snap I used was one I had on-hand and it is in an Onyx finish and is by Everything Mary.
So let's talk about the actual pattern. One thing I liked was that she has a page dedicated to equipment and terms (she uses abbreviations through-out the pattern) and directions for snaps and interfacing. I find it better to have this all in one place instead of in the middle of the pattern. It is easier for those that have more experience to skip over.
I know that a lot of people really like the full color pictures for each step but I am not one of those. Occasionally I find them helpful but I hate having to use the ink to print them off. Instead of the pictures, she has very simple diagrams that are clear and useful. They are numbered so that they are easy to reference back to. There were actually only 3 pages of directions for the entire bag and they were clear and concise and great.
The bag itself was really easy to make even though it looks like it might be complicated. It was a little rough flipping the bag ride side out since the top is smaller than the bottom but the Soft and Stable is flexible enough that it can be smooshed up and then ironed back out with no wrinkles! I did have trouble sewing the button on at the end since it was going right on top of the magnetic slap. Not sure how to get around this. I did the best I could and will hope that it doesn't fall off!!
(Note: the first sew-on of the button lasted about a week. I then re-sewed it on with more stitches and some fray check and glue in intricate places and this seems to have worked. I checked in with the author about this issue and she said that she usually uses a button with a shank on it, which prevents this problem and/or she moves the button so that it is off of the snap area!)
Here is my bag:
I am very impressed with how it came out. The snaps and tab lined up perfectly which is always a plus. I love the colors and the pop of the button.
I am definitively going to have to try some of her other patterns out. When I see them I think of Jacki O. using these bags.
Thanks for playing along with Purse Palooza! I hope that you have enjoyed seeing everyone's takes on these wonderful bag patterns- I know that I have. And I can't wait to see what everyone makes!!
~Kim
