Amy Butler’s newest handbag pattern, The Birdie Sling, is by far the most popular pattern in the store. Last week I finally had a chance to make a sample for the store. After the fabulous results of combining Heather Bailey Pop Garden fabric with an Amy Butler pattern I decided to do it again.

This time I used the “Peonies” in red for the main bag and “Sway” in ivory for the upper bands and handle.

The pattern went together for me much better this time than it did when I was teaching it for the first time last month. I also made one modification to the pattern directions. The pattern calls for fusible fleece to be applied to the lining pieces. We did that the last time and I liked the results but I wanted to see what it would be like unpadded. The fleece lining does give it a nice body and adds a layer of protection for your belongings. Without the fleece the bag is more like a tote bag. I think it works either way.

I’ve been working diligently on putting together my fall schedule of classes. I’ve decided due to the popularity of this bag to add it as a class. If you’re interested please drop me a line and let me know what fits your schedule best and I’ll see what I can do to get some times on the schedule that meet those requests. I’m also working on new classes for holiday projects. Quick and easy gift and decorating ideas.

 
Emily and Lauren are sisters who have been coming in to learn to sew this past month. Their first projects were cool pajama pants (sorry no pictures). Then they chose Amy Butler’s new pattern, The Birdie Sling for their second project.

They did a great job choosing coordinating fabrics. Amy’s great colors and patterns make it pretty easy anyway! Emily chose Temple Garden and Full Moon Polka Dot from the Lotus collection with Oxford Stripe for the lining. Lauren selected her fabrics from the new Midwest Modern line; Optic Blossom in linen, Martini in mustard and Happy Dots in grey for the lining.

This was my first time making this pattern too. As with any pattern, I’d advise reading through the directions before starting. Amy Butler patterns are very clear and detailed. This one doesn’t have a lot of diagrams and there were one or two steps that may have been clearer with a diagram. Also we had a little trouble getting the top of the bag pieces and the top bands to match up evenly. We managed to fudge around enough that the end result was fine. I haven’t found any references to this problem in other online reviews of this pattern so it may have just been our mistake. I’ll have to make another sometime to see if we weren’t precise enough in our cutting this time around. This turned out to be a two session project. On the first day we got through the first 6 or 7 steps in the pattern and finished up the last 4 or 5 on the second day. The laying out and cutting of the pattern pieces always takes longer than you expect it to and with the last few finishing steps it is always important to take your time and be sure you do a nice neat job.

The finished bag is very roomy and the pattern includes instructions for two interior pockets. One is divided and quite deep, Lauren commented that this one is the perfect size for her eyeglass case. It wouldn’t be difficult at all to add a zippered pocket to the lining or a smaller cell phone sized pocket to the nice wide strap. I’d also suggest adding a magnetic snap. The other feature I like about this pattern is the use of fusible fleece for the lining interfacing. It gives the bag a nice body and protects your belongings a little bit. (One caveat: the fleece interfacing I ordered came in non-fusible so we used a temporary spray adhesive to stick the lining and interfacing together during assembly. This worked just fine, maybe better than using fusible as my luck and experience with some fusible fleeces has been hit or miss.)

Overall I’d give this pattern an A and Lauren and Emily an A+!

 
A second friendly fox from a WooPets kit. This one will become a thank you gift to the mayor for attending my ribbon cutting last week.