Showoff Bag & Open Wide Pouch

So there’s this beautiful fabric that I had been eyeballing at the fabric store for weeks. Weeks I say! But I never got any because I didn’t know what to make with it. But every day that I was browsing sewing patterns and other inspirations, I had that fabric in the back of my mind.

So the day I found the Showoff Bag pattern, I was thrilled! I ran to the fabric store, grabbed the bolt, and wandered the shop looking for contrasting fabrics. I went with a solid red for the top panels and straps, and a red/white chevron for the inside (seriously, why did I just now realize how awesome chevrons are?!). The lady at the fabric store was almost as happy as I was that I found something to do with the flowers.

Before I had even started cutting, I already had a new favorite bag.

The fabric is actually bluer than it looks in the above picture. Actually, I apologize now in advance for the photos, the quality isn’t that great because a) bad light, b) I’ve been busy and c) when I’m not busy these days, I’m a wee bit lazy. A is the big one though ;)

Then I got to sewing! I found that the secret to a nice secure, flat patch pocket is to zig-zag the edge. This pocket holds my phone and two pens, though in retrospect I wish I had made it just a little taller.

I almost went to sleep the night I got to this part with the panels all assembled and just needing to be attached since I had to get up early to be at the airport the next day….. but then I decided that I could sleep on the plane because I really wanted to take my new favorite bag to Los Angeles with me! So I finished it.

I carried the bag EVERYWHERE I went while I was in L.A. It’s bigger than I normally carry, but it worked well cause when I’m on “vacation” I always carry a bunch more stuff with me, and never had any need to get an extra bag.

Now that I’m home, I took some proper photos of the finished bag. First, now that I have a mostly color accurate shot, can you SEE why I had to have the blossom fabric?! It’s amazing.

And seriously, chevrons, where have you been all my life??

I figured with a giant bag I needed to have at least a few pockets. And a zipper somewhere. This bag wasn’t shaped right for adding a zipper to the whole bag, so I made a zippered pocket. It’s perfect for things like my keys and chapstick that I’d be annoyed about having fall out of my bag, or having to dig through everything to find it. The pocket is plain white so it wouldn’t show through the lining fabric.

Here’s the patch pocket with some stuff in it, see what I mean about wishing it was a little taller? My phone flops around because the section for it is too wide and/or too short.

After my labels came (sadly, too late for me to put one in this bag), I was dying to make something to add one to. So I made a matching zippered pouch. I guess it’s a makeup bag, but we’ll see what I actually throw in there. For the pouch, I went with the Open Wide Zipper Pouch tutorial from Noodlehead.

Don’t let the pretty picture fool you; this bag and I are not friends right now. Everything went wrong while I was sewing this for some reason! I couldn’t cut a straight line to save my life (thank goodness for interfacing and forgiving seam allowances). The zipper came out somewhat crooked.

And worst of all, I did a TERRIBLE job boxing the corners ever. Seriously. I’m usually a lot better at it and I’m almost embarrassed to show you how bad they are. But I’ll do it anyway. Behold:

Despite the fact that it went in a little crooked, HOW CUTE IS MY {katili*made} label?! :D

Back to my whinging about how bad my bag came out, my lining is somehow much larger than the outside of the pouch. Sigh. Also, I need to find my quilting thread and long needle so I can go back to closing turning gaps by hand, I hate the way they look when I machine close them.

Despite the technical booboos, the pouch is still usable though, and pretty cute if you don’t look at it too closely (or are not my worst critic like I am).