Amy Butler Blossom Bag

This is the third project I've made from Amy Butler's Style Stitches book. Every since I bought the book this has been the one bag I've really wanted to make and I decided that it will be my January/February project. As I work full-time and have a family I can't devote that much time to my sewing and I try to be realistic about how long it will take.

I thought this could be my most difficult project to date, it certainly has the most pieces! A quick google search revealed everyone took hours and hours to cut and interface all the pieces and I was no exception! I have since read in Lisa Lam's Bag Making Bible that it is wise to just interface the whole of your outer fabric before cutting, I wish I had thought of that beforehand. In any event the cutting was the worst bit, the sewing was fine.

The pattern calls for Peltex which I presume is strong interfacing. I have put on some of my usual interfacing (which came from my stash) and then bought some heavy interfacing from a market stall and used that on top of my run of the mill interfacing. I also added a bag bottom to it, I bought a large bag bottom from U-Handbag for my travel bag (future post on that one), and I had some left. Bag bottoms are a plastic mesh which keeps the bottom of your bag firm but also is waterproof so much better than stiffening a bag with cardboard. You simply cut them to size so you can use the left overs if you have any.

The fabric is Amy Butler fabric which I bought recently in the sale in John Lewis half price, I purchased a metre of both fabrics and had just enough of the exterior fabric (even using two for the dividing panels). Amy Butler has very generous estimates for how much fabric you actually need for her patterns.

The first thing I did was added the magnetic snap. I used a square of left over plastic from my bag bottom to reinforce both pieces of the snap as I thought this would be more effective than adding another layer of interfacing it certainly feels stronger and there is no pulling on the fabric when you open and close the bag.



I love the handles on the bag, they give it a really professional finish.




Other changes I made were to add an inside zip pocket as I love an internal zip pocket and I also only did one divider as I didn't see the point of a non-zip divider as well as a zipped divider. As usual I inserted my internal pocket as per the instructions in Lisa Lam's Bag Making Bible. I also used her instructions to do the zip on the divider as I had read from other people's experiences that Amy's method for zips is a bit odd.

Here's my internal divider once I'd inserted the zip. I put tabs on each end of the zip as my zip was a bit too short and it gives it a great finish. Thankfully my mis-matching of the print cannot be seen in the bag (I wasn't even attempting to match it by the way!!)



Inside of the bag now it's complete



I love the bag and it took me a good afternoon to do all of the cutting and interfacing and I did the sewing over a weekend (with interuptions obviously!). I'm so pleased with the end result. The interfacing is giving it a bit of a wrinkled look but I'm sure it will be better once it has stuff in it and is being used. I've made it for a day trip to London in a few weeks time so all I need to do now it scotchguard it and I'm ready to go.

Pleated clutch

I thought it might be fun to start a blog so that I could keep a track on my bits and pieces, mainly sewing, knitting and cooking. I love sewing and mainly sew bags, I went to a dressmaking class a few years ago but I've never really got the fitting issue sorted out, this is something I do need to work on. Bags are my favourite thing to make, everyone loves a bag (well every girl does) and there is no need to worry about fit. I've made a few bags and have some photos of them so my first few posts will be about bags I've already made then I will go on to my current project which is the Amy Butler Blossom Bag.

The pleated clutch was the first bag I made from Amy Butler's style stitches book. It is the pleated clutch.

This bag is lovely, I made the smallest size with some leftover fabric in my stash. The black is linen and the print is just a random fabric I purchased from Leon's Fabric in Chorlton to make a skirt. I had quite a bit left but this took up the last of the scraps with a Frenchie bag which I'll post later. The lining is some satin from Abakhans in Manchester. I love a satin lining.

I wasn't sure about the handle at first as it seems a bit daft, however, I made the bag to use at my friend's wedding and it was handy to hook over my wrist when carrying drinks, taking photos etc so I think I'd keep the handle the next time I make one.

The only amendments I made were to divide the pocket inside as I don't really see the point of a huge pocket. Apart from that the bag is as per the pattern. I did pin the pleats after pressing as I was worried about them falling out overnight, it took up a lot of pins but was worth it I think.




I love the end result of this bag. Everyone commented on the bag at the wedding saying how lovely it was, the pleats give it a really special look. I will be making more of these as it was a fairly easy bag to make and quick to whip up if I can't find the right bag to go with my outfit for a special occasion.

Frenchy bag

The frenchie bag is one of my favourite patterns. I have made lots of these bags and it was the first pattern I used when teaching my daughter to sew she's made a few of these for presents for friends. It's an Amy Butler pattern and has a large and small version of the bag. I have made two of the larger ones but I prefer the smaller one. The larger one does require the magnetic snap for closure but I don't bother when making the smaller one as it is a hand-held bag so quite secure.




One thing I always do when making this bag is separate the large pockets so that I have a phone pocket and a purse pocket, as I said before, I don't see the point of a huge pocket. For some versions of the bag I've only done one pocket (and divided it into three) rather than a pocket on each side.



This bag is really quick to whip up with very little time so great for a forgotten present for an adult or a little girl depending on the fabric in your stash. Again for this bag I've used leftovers - I love the white and yellow fabric and cannot wait to wear the skirt I made out of it (all it needs is a button hole and some nice weather!).