A new bag for Summer
It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted last and I do apologise! It’s been a busy few weeks in our household and it’s that time of year where you just don’t seem to have enough hours in the day. Well this week I finally got on my sewing machine and finished ithinksew’s Jeannie Bag! I did find it a bit of a challenge but I think it all turned out alright in the end!
As I mentioned in my project in progress post, I did take a bit of a gamble by increasing the size of the main bag section. The risk of changing a pattern, particularly one that you haven’t made yet, is spending a lot of time on the project to find out you have made a miscalculation somewhere. Luckily the risk paid off this time! I’ve managed to make all the correct alterations to the pattern – phew!
The exterior fabric I used for this bag is a quilter’s cotton that I picked up from Spotlight. It was a while ago but you might still be able to find it. It’s such a lovely shade of teal with a pale pattern that gives the impression of texture. The lining fabric is a plain Prima Homespun in charcoal.
So what’s my review? This pattern is definitely one for the more advanced sewers amongst you. There are quite a few tricky steps in this pattern that I found more difficult than usual. In particular, the placement and sewing of the front pocket, the main gusset and the installation of the eyelets. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever installed an eyelet! I think I did an alright job although next time I will definitely try to reinforce the stitching in the place where the eyelet will be installed. I found when I installed these eyelets the stitching along the band started to unravel and I needed to hand stitch the seam back together.
Now that it’s finished I absolutely love this bag. I think it’s really stylish, particularly with leather straps. It’s also really practical. The pocket at the front is great for my phone as it makes it really accessible. And the main zipper helps to keep all my belongs protected. The internal zipper pocket is great for holding my keys, mints, lip balm etc and I’ve also added two internal slip pockets for other bits and pieces. The only thing I would change for next time is to position the internal zipper pocket about 1/2” lower. And I can definitely see myself making the Jeannie Bag again in the future!
