What's your favorite bag?

I love sewing bags. They are practical, fun, easy to customize and relatively quickish projects. I've sewn so many bags but there are a few that are my tried and true favorites. They are my favorites because of the features and the end result of the bag.

1) The Lapin Noir Bag by Sew Sweetness

This is my all time favorite bag pattern. It is somewhat more labor intensive than the others because this bag packs a Ron of features. I carried my first Lapin Noir to death. There are so many pockets and compartments it makes someone as unorganized as me seem put together. There is a cell phone pocket on the front, which means no digging through your bag to find your phone.

2) The Tulip Tote by Kay Whit

This bag is found in the book Sew Serendipity Bags by Kay Whitt. It's not available as a stand alone pattern but this book is totally worth this bag alone. It's a nice mid size handbag that has the addition of grommets. The grommets make a statement themselves but this bag is such a quick and easy sew. It doesn't have as many features as some of the other bags but the shape and look of the bag is classic.

3) It's a Cinch Bag by Sweet Verbena

This bag is actually a free tutorial on the Sweet Verbena site and was my introduction into sewing zippered bags. This bag is an incredibly quick sew and is a wonderful size for a pool tote or overnight bag. This bag is less structured than I normally like, but it totally works for this bag. It's made with a series of squares and rectangles and you can make a fairly large bag with a relatively small amount of fabric. If you can sew a zippered pouch (or even if you can't, you can make this bag).

4) The Necessary Clutch Wallet by Emmaline Bags

This is THE ultimate wallet. I've made several and the wallet looks much more complicated than it is. It can hold an incredible amount of stuff and the shape of the bag is just gorgeous. I've made so many of these and everyone I have given one too is in love with the features of this wallet as well. This wallet was my first introduction into twist locks and I love them so much now!

5) The 241 Tote by Noodle Head

This is another go to bag for me. I love everything about it. It is such a quick sew and there are different pocket variations included with the pattern so you can completely customize it to suit you. This is a medium sized hand bag but with all kinds of pocket variations, this bag can hold a lot more than it seems. This bag introduced me to sewing zippered pockets and the pattern is very easy to follow, even if you've never sewn a bag.

6) The Park West Bag by Sew Sweetness

I've made several of these now, and I absolutely love the way they come together. The addition of front accent pieces really make the exterior pop and it's another bag that has a classic look. It's a largish handbag but would also work well as a small diaper bag. 

7) The Totes Ma Tote by Emmaline Bags

Ok, so I've only made one of these bags but it is such an awesome, awesome bag. There is a lot of hardware involved in this bag (which can be somewhat intimidating to those who haven't used a lot before), but it's all really, really doable. I promise! This is another bag that uses grommets, both functionally and as a design feature. This was the first time I have used eyelets and the process was really, really simple (no cursing at all). I can also say that this was maybe the ONLY bag I've ever made that I haven't had to use the seam ripper the first time I sewed it (which is typically a reflection of me more than the instructions...I'm really dense sometimes). 

Although these are my favorite patterns, there are many more out there from these  incredibly talented designers. I've sewn almost every one of the bags by Sew Sweetness and you seriously can not go wrong with buying any of her patterns. I've also sewed several Emmaline Bags as well and they are all incredibly wonderfully written as well.

I love finding new bag patterns and designers and would love to hear what some of your favorites are.