Purse Vs. Purse

First, I have to confess that I love purse patterns and have quite a few and do try to make at least one of each.  I haven't bought a real purse in years now as I definitely prefer these fabric ones as they fall apart all at once rather than the handles falling off when the purse still looks new!  They are so nice and washable as well!

This is the latest purse that I have made.  I purchased this pattern because it had some different techniques which I thought I might incorporate into other bags.  I generally only purchase purse patterns these days that have some new technique that looks clever or easy.  This purse was not easy...especially the preparation.

This is an "in process" step where I have finished part of the front of the bag (the picture above shows the back).  It has a pocket on this side but I added one to the back as well.  The only difference in the sides is the trim on the front.

This is the view from the top that shows the zippered top.  It is open on either side but it is a nice treatment and very easy.  I kind of like that you can drop things into the purse without opening it up and yet a thief couldn't get something out.

This shows the inset zipper on one side.  This was also easy and an application I can use anywhere.

There are pockets on the other side as well much like many purses with several slots and a nice binding on top.

This is the pattern for the above  Brentwood Bag made by Pink Sand Beach Designs #106.  It contains 14 pattern pieces but gives you pattern pieces for five and then measurements for the rest.  These are found on the pattern piece layouts.  You had to make the pattern pieces to be able to lay out the purse.  It took several hours to do all this.  Making the purse was a piece of cake after this.  It uses fleece as the backing on many pieces and if I ever made this again, I would eliminate the fleece and just use a nice stiff fusable interfacing. The layers of fleece made the top stitching on the finish of the bag really almost impossible and I was glad to have my heavy Juki sewing machine.  There are four pages of instructions with pictures for making the bag and these were pretty clear although I did need to read several steps more than once.

This is my favorite purse pattern to date.  I have made many purses from this pattern in all different fabrics.  I have used purchased handles as well as fabric ones like this.  This purse has been through the laundry a couple of times and is beginning to show its age.

This is the pattern for the purse although it is called a tote for some reason (Laura's Zippered Tote).  It comes in several sizes and is easy to make.  I always find it easier to make my own patterns which I did with this bag.  The pattern is made by the same people who do the Professional Tote which is probably my favorite tote pattern and has many clever techniques.  This bag is easy and fast and very practical!  

I did bring one more purse pattern down here to try out by the same company that did the one above so we shall see...

I have also made several of the Market Bags and have loved that pattern although have made quite a few alterations by this time in size and straps and fabrics.