I think every bag I sew is my new favorite bag, until I sew another. However, I am seriously in looove with totes ma tote and I don't think that is changing for a while. I had been swooning over this bag since I saw Janelle's version in Jungle Avenue, so when she asked me if I would test for her, I was honored and super excited.
This bag has grommets y'all. Grommets. I heart grommets.
Have you seen these oval grommets from Janelle's shop?! I want to add them to everything! She has some of the best bag hardware, from rings to zipper pulls, it's all sorts of awesomeness.
This tote is seriously such a fun sew and it's super functional. It has a recessed zip closure, a zippered interior pocket, a divided slip pocket and a pocket secured with a magnetic snap. I am a pocket lover, so these make me so very happy.
Did I mention it has grommets?
I love the buckle straps, and the addition of the eyelets. This was my first time using eyelets and I was a bit scared but it was relatively painless (once I followed the directions that came with my pliers).
The hardest part of this bag was finding the darn buckles. Seriously. Apparently the JoAnn closest to me doesn't carry buckles. Not a single one. I call shenanigans.
Janelle recommends using Soft and Stable on the exterior of the bag and Shape Flex 101 for the majority of the other pieces. For the exterior, I substituted headliner fabric and added shape flex before basting it on. The headliner fabric isn't quite as forgiving as the S&S and can wrinkle up the pieces but I've found that a layer of SF101 can take care of that problem. For most of the other pieces, I used decor bond 809, as I like a very structured bag.
The side panels have a fun contrast strip:
As much as I wanted to keep this one for me, it was perfect for our wonderful sitter who just had a birthday, but luckily I ordered another set of grommets :)
Go get your copy at Emmaline Bags! She also carries all the hardware in her shop...even the grommets.
6 comments:
Cyndi I love your tote, your fabric is great. Aren't the grommets the greatest, I had ordered extra as well.
I can see me making another tote in the near future.
Love it, Love it, Love it!!! Oh yes, and I love grommets too :) Thank you so much for pattern testing and the very generous review! Janelle
I love the fun fabric you used for your bag and those grommets and buckles make the bag gorgeous. It's been such an inspiration seeing all the testers bags and the use of such beautiful fabrics.
Lovely bag.
Looks great! Janelle's patterns are the best!
Where did you end up getting your buckles from? I was wanting to finish up my bag and that is the step I am on but I cannot find them anywhere except online. I saw some at Joann's but they weren't the right kind so I was just curious where you had luck?
Thanks, and I love your bag. Perfect summery colors!
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