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image courtesy of seller falovelife2014 on eBay... |
Eight years later, a dream purse is no longer a thing for me. More significantly, I have no further inclinations to design any more bag patterns.
While my sewing journey sort of had a goal of designing my own dream
purse, over time, priorities and desires changed.
For one thing, I gradually saw no need to reinvent the wheel or challenge
myself to do so. (How different can I make
any bag?) For another, I've come across designs that have more than met
my essential needs, at various times over the past decade.
The two purses that I currently carry are my (remade)
Crossbody Sling Bag
and customized
Goddess of the Sea. They both do a very good job of carting my essentials around. Sometimes
what we envision as our dream purses don't actually pan out to be such, and
other times we can be surprised by how functional simple purse designs can be.
At one point, I thought I wanted a triple opening bag with many storage compartments. (Remember this one from Target? When Craftsy was still around, I actually found a pattern for making such a purse, but have since lost track of whose it was.) But no matter, since countless variations of the design are now available for free on YouTube. Here are some that fit the bill, in no particular order.
First one is from Ae PooiM's channel, dubbed DIY MULTI-POCKET TOTE BAG, zipper bag, uploaded
March 27, 2021. It's a simpler version of the design, with two large open
compartments separated by a zippered dividing "pocket". It has the overall
appearance of a tote bag, however, not so much the purse style that I would
have been wanting.
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| image courtesy of Ae Pooim's YouTube channel |
While it's nicely designed, I was surprised that she used a directional text
fabric for this. The result is that one side of the bag has the words
upside-down. (Also peculiar are the words themselves, seemingly random
things from NEW YORK CITY to GIRL to LOW END.) If you ever want to make
something like this with directional fabric, please add a seam allowance and
cut it in half for a more professional finish.
The second bag is courtesy of Qting Craft Studio on YouTube
(search for Multi Compartment Tote Bag Pattern); video uploaded March
20, 2023. It's a two parter; both were uploaded the same day.
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| image courtesy of Qting Craft Studio on YouTube... |
The tutorial demonstrates how certain style decisions play a role in making
a handmade creation look like a store bought item. (While the zippers are
definitely designer inspired, the webbing used for the handles strikes me as
the wrong choice.) As you might guess, this pattern is not a simple one, but
she takes you through the process of drawing it all out.
On the YouTube channel of Craft2315 (search for
JUST one cut multi pockets big shopping bag making at home-cloth bag
banane ka tarika, handmade bag), this third version – uploaded August 10, 2021 – is much simpler to
execute than the previous one.
Which is good, right? Some of us prefer to have easier projects.
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| image courtesy of Craft2315 on YouTube... |
The design here is again more reminiscent of a tote style bag, but wow —
you've got some serious storage options here. The middle zippered
compartment is the biggest area, of course, but on both sides of that, there
are open slots formed by the two exterior mounted zippered compartments.
While I'm not so much a fan of all the squared, boxy edges, the way in which
this particular bag is put together is something to see. (While the main
body is achieved by making one cut, it does end up requiring a few more cuts
to finish, but not by much!)
And now for a purse that's even more than I could have imagined a
dream purse to be. So much more that I've decided to devote a whole
section of this post to it, with many photos.
This is from the YouTube channel of
Lady of Generation (search for
Designer Handbag No. 72, With Lots Of Pockets Tutorial By Anamika
Mishra), uploaded March 1, 2021.
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
If you check out her complete YouTube library, you'll see that she has
done several different videos using this same basic pattern. But I should
correct myself: the word "basic" doesn't really apply here. This bag,
purse – whatever you want to call it – is anything but basic.
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
Yep, that curvy zippered pocket located along the bottom gusset
accommodates a bottle!
And the rest of the bag? Well, it's chock full of pockets and storage
options with its triple compartments. Oh, and the fabric here is
just perfect for showcasing this rockin' design.
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
As with the others, this purse also features a main central compartment
secured with a zipper. On both sides of it are compartments accessed via
recessed zippers. (Inside these areas, you have the option to add an
interior zippered pocket.)
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
Unfortunately, she's chosen a dark lining for her project here, so it's
difficult for me to show you good shots of the interior, given that I'm
grabbing them from the video.
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
The front of the bag features a large surface-mounted zippered pocket, the
top of which is adorned with yet another zippered pocket. If you can't
store all your stuff in this purse, you're definitely carrying too much!
Quite honestly, you'd be more in danger of losing track of where your
stuff is in this bag than not having enough space.
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| image courtesy of Lady of Generation on YouTube... |
Finally, there is a full width zippered pocket across the back that isn't
shown in the photos.
This looks to be such a fun and functional purse that I've been tempted to
stick this on a future "to do" list. Whether or not you're likely to
attempt such a project, I highly recommend taking the time to check out
the video. It's quite instructive to see such an elaborate thing being
made.
The countdown is on: just 9 more regularly scheduled posts...
Finally, while I wouldn't consider this a variant of my dream purse, it's
the first bag that I've seen in a long time that's functionally
different and serves a purpose.
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| image courtesy of Erika Mulvenna (at WeAllSew)... |
It's a messenger style bag with a button/pin display window built into the
flap. Showcase your treasured buttons and pins without fear of losing them
or having them be casually stolen. What a nifty idea. (As seen on Bernina's
WeAllSew blog; you can find it by searching for "weallsew pin display handbag".)
Of course, some of us "older folk" may not want to carry a bag like this,
but it could very well be suitable for a young lady. For those of you who
like to take an idea and run with it, this could be implemented as a smaller
and slightly less obvious feature on a different purse design.
'Til next...
Hi Rochelle, I love purses with compartments, but my shoulder pain put an end to carrying anything but a thin crossbody bag. I do have several loaded tote bags that I leave in the car with all those things that caused my shoulder problem. It actually was an easy transition to carry only the bare essentials with an extra bag left in the car with non-essentials. These triple compartment bags continue to tempt me to sew one, my fav is the
ReplyDeleteDouble zip divided tote from sewingtimes. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w05PT8oVHpk
I’m enjoying your countdown… but wonder what you will do after to fill this emptiness left behind? Marie
That bag by sewingtimes is rather neat; don't know how I missed it. As to your shoulder pain, I can confirm that sometimes, having anything over one shoulder can cause discomfort. Hubby and I recently did an approximate 10K walk and even though I only had my crossbody bag on, I felt its presence on the way back home.
DeleteAs for the blog winding down, I will be revealing little bits about my future plans in the coming weeks. Still trying to sort out what I want to commit to, but there are ways to keep this connection open (without having to post a new entry every week) and those are what I'm aiming to identify.
Your blog keeps my interest all week long! So I started thinking about my fav bags and this one from sew4home https://sew4home.com/canvas-slim-bag-with-elbow-patch-corners/
Deleteinspired my desire for all those pockets to make it much cuter than what I saw as ugly. This was my test one before I added the handle. Woops- I can’t send pics here!
You should know the drill — if you'd like to share a photo, send it to my email. That particular bag from S4H is not to my tastes, but it looks simple to make, and I'm all for using something as a foundation to make it "better".
DeleteRochelle, my personal bags have changed over time too. I loved lots of pockets and stylish bags to make, but as I age, I carry less with me and as mentioned in the first comment, shoulder pain can be an issue for carrying less and less. I mainly use smaller cross body bags and small backpacks now as they are hands free, and don't stress my body. I was always on the search forte perfect bag for myself and one reason I got into bag testing, so I could make the bag and see if I wanted any changes to make it perfect. I never found any one design to be perfect, but I do have several I love using and I switch them often as the mood strikes or my needs for what I am carrying that day changes.
ReplyDeleteI am sad to see you are stopping blogging, but understand. I have slowed way down on posting to Instagram and Facebook, but blogging is still the nicest way for me to keep a diary of things I have made for over the past 15+ years. Wow has it really been that long! Well even if no one reads my blog anymore, it's something I can refer to and search for posts of things I have made. I cannot search on other social media, just photos. I will keep the other social media, but only post when I am promoting bags for designers that I have tested for. If I stop testing altogether, then I might stop posting elsewhere too. Takes too much time and certainly I haven't made any sales of bags or quilts through posting there. In fact, no one even looks at what I have! So I have gone all out in making purses and quilts to donate to 2 charities, so that I can still be creative. I have wanted to sell some of my test bags to recoup my money, but that hasn't happened much at all. Way too much competition for selling and for the bag designers out there now. So many new designers nowadays, that I cannot even name most of them as I hear new names mentioned daily. So many designs are way too similar too! I do like watching the Youtube videos and have made a few of the free bags and quilts too. Good luck and I hope you enjoy being blog free, although I have enjoyed your blog.