Purse Palooza 2013 - The One Piece Bag by Fig Tree Quilts

As a person who loves to make

bags, purses, and pouches,

I've been enjoying

Purse Palooza 2013 over at Sew Sweetness!

I actually tried out a brand-new-to-me pattern

that I was smitten with,

from the time I first saw it on the Fig Tree Quilts blog.

It's called the One Piece Bag,

and you can find the pattern here,

in PDF or paper format.

I made this bag for a friend,

and she requested black and white fabrics.

I used a beautiful damask from Michael Miller,

for the body of the bag.

The shoulder straps are a large polka dot.

{Did you really think I'd make a bag without polka dots?}

This is a really cool and sophisticated purse,

very large and spacious, with a messenger-style flap,

but lots more style than I've seen in most messenger bags.

A magnetic snap holds the flap in position.

I don't have a photo showing how it looks

when it's being carried,

but the straps are nice and long,

letting the bag fall along the hipline.

I love the way the straps are attached

to the outer bag early in the process,

to allow for some decorative support stitching.

My friend requested lots of interior pockets,

in a strip, to keep the bag contents organized.

I figured out where to position two contrasting pocket strips

so that they line each side of the bag.

{My little label shows that I made this bag just for her.}

I'm not gonna lie...I was a little nervous making this bag

for the first time, because of the pocket modification

and also because it was my first time installing 

little feet on the bottom of the bag!

It turns out that the feet are applied much like magnetic snaps,

and in just a few minutes,

I had added an amazing professional touch!

{Here's a view of the bottom of the bag.}

When I had the bag all finished up,

there was one little thing that kind of bothered me.

I felt like the top of the gusset was too wide,

and the flap had a gap at the top.

I just pinched the top of the gusset

and stitched a pleat in the top edge.

The result was kind of a teardrop shaping

that really dressed up the finished bag.

I.Love.This.Bag.

I hope my friend loves it, too.

Someday...I'll make another one for myself.