Swoon Sydney Crossbody

Happy New Year! 

Over the holidays I was happy to get some sewing in and try out a new pattern. My sweet friend Kate surprised me by sending me a yard of Winner's Circle in Mint by Tula pink, knowing my love for mint green. I instantly thought of making the Sydney Crossbody  by Swoon Patterns.

I was lucky enough to have a bit of this pink glitter vinyl left over after I finished another project and I had JUST enough to use for the pocket flaps and accents on this bag. She was a remarkable easy sew, even for all the details on the exterior.

One of my favorte features on this bag are the two front cargo pockets. They add a different look to the exterior and are so functional. 

The back has a full sized slip pocket, which allows you to store a generous amount, making it perfect for a small diaperbag or for toting your work essentials around.

In addition to the two cargo pockets, there is also a large zippered pocket on the exterior front. It's a great place to add a pop of contrast by using a different colored zip. 

The top has a zippered closure and inside there is another zippered pocket. This bag has so many pockets it's perfect for someone as unorganized as me, I seem to always have stuff rolling around on the bottom of my bag. 

This was a very easy to follow pattern, and none of the steps were very challenging, but there were a lot of elements in this bag. I would rate it intermediate, and I'm sure with some patience even an advanced beginner could make this bag. It's rated as a 3/4 for difficulty on the Swoon Site, and I would say that is appropriate only because of the many steps involved. 

I'm so terrible at estimating sizes from measurements on patterns. I had expected Sydney to be a bit bigger than she was, more of a true messenger bag or tote bag sized. She is 13' Wide x 11" Tall x 3" Deep. Which makes her more appropriate for an every day bag than I had envisioned. I think she woul make the perfect diaper bag for someone who doesn't need to tote around a lot. I haven't decided what to do with her yet but I can see this being a new favorite pattern for me.