Another Sweet Pea Tote

I have wanted to make this Sweet Pea Tote bag for absolutely ages but have had a very hard time trying to find the “O” rings for it.  I checked out Michaels, Hobby Lobby and eventually found them locally at Hancock fabrics.  If you don’t have a Hancock s fabric store near you then I am reliably informed by Veronica of SewVery that you can find them at a number of stores on Etsy. 

I finally made this Sweet Pea Tote today, and I have to tell you, this is one very large bag.  I made this bag using Simplicity Pattern 2396 View C or D. This Sweet Pea Tote pattern, has to be the easiest one I have made so far, and it was extremely easy to cut out and put together. Especially seeing as I didn’t follow the pattern exactly! 

Originally I had cut out the pattern pieces to make it patchwork,  like you can see in the pattern photo, I had some scraps of Joel Dewberry fabric that I had left over from other bags I made, but I just could not decide on what other fabrics I had that would go with it.  I decided to scrap that idea and make the bag out of one piece of fabric instead of doing it patchwork like in the pattern instructions,  This made the bag even easier to make as I did not have to mess about with bias binding and the outside was basically just  two pieces of fabric.

This was my first time using magnetic snaps and I couldn’t believe how easy they are to use, I wish I had known this before as I would have used one in the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag that I made.  I can definitely seeing me using more magnetic snaps in the future.

 

 

To see how it looks if I had followed the Pattern, then check out the absolutely gorgeous bag that Veronica of SewVery made, she used some of my favourite fabric by Joel Dewberry.  I love her version.

Bag - Simplicity 2396

From this pattern I made View B (Bottom right)

This bag is a great bag, much smaller than what I thought it would be from the picture on the pattern envelope, but saying that I really like the size of this bag. This bag is quite an easy bag to sew and most of my time was spent cutting out the pattern, interlining, fleece and fabric. It came together quite quickly and would be ideal for a beginner sewer to sew.
Whilst making it, I forgot to cut out the pocket pattern piece so just winged it and made a pocket to suit the size I wanted it to be. The only thing that was a little confusing was which way the pleats lie and this did not make much sense, it would have been helpful if the instructions actually said which way the pleats lie i.e. facing inwards or outwards, instead it just shows you on the pattern but I was confused by this.
The pattern did not explain what type of interlining to use for the bag, so I would normally use a fusible fleece interfacing but did not have any on hand so just used some fleece fabric instead, which I basted to the fabric. The lining in this bag is the same pattern for the main part of the bag, which also required pleating, I felt that the lining was too big for the inside and could be made slightly smaller.
I hope you found this review helpful, thanks for looking.

UPDATE

If you would like to see a different fabric version of this bag then hop on over and see what Veronica from SewVery  made , it is absolutely gorgeous, you can find it on her blog SewVery (seriously check it out, her version is in beautiful Joel Dewbery fabric and is to die for),

Bag - Simplicity 2617

Hi, hope your all having a great weekend.  So what do you do when, its cold outside? make bags of course!  I mentioned in the Amy Butler Birdie Sling Pattern Review   about the amount of fabric I had left over from making the bag,  so I had a look through all my patterns and decided to make the bag from this pattern:

Simplicity 2617 view B.

I had more than enough fabric to make this bag, even enough for the lining, I added in a contrast fabric from my stash for the patchwork, as I wanted this to be slightly different in colour form the Amy Butler bag I made.

I didn’t follow the pattern exactly as it had an inside pocket with a zip and I am a beginner! so zips at the moment scare me!  I can sew them in but they don’t always work out like I want them to, it is a little bit hit and miss!  So I left the pocket out all together. 

This bag also included a magnetic snap closure and I didn’t have one on hand, so I had a look at another pattern and found this neat little loop closure with a button, just the perfect thing to try out the covered button gadget I bought the other week.  I can see myself putting buttons on everything!

Apart from the above changes I found this bag a lot of fun to make, it came together really easy and I enjoyed adding a little stitched pattern along the seams of the patchwork, something I haven’t done before. I really like the handle on this bag, as it seems extremely solid. I love the way this bag turned out.  This bag is certainly easy enough for a beginner to make. So enough of me going on here is the bag I made ………….

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If you look close enough you might be able to see the decorative stitch I used, the same one they used in the pattern

Loving that covered button.

Like I mentioned its cold here in Wisconsin this weekend so I also made a start on another bag, which I hope to share with you some time next week.  Here is a little teaser of the fabric I am using, check bag next week to see the finished bag.