Finished: Black and Pink Buttercup Bag

I've been wanting to make this bag ever since I saw it on the madebyrae blog in February, where the designer, Rae, was offering the pattern for free. I had downloaded the pattern, cut out the fabric, and then let it sit for months until one of the (vital) pieces went missing. So a few weeks ago I had re-cut out the fabric and it's only now that I got around to actually sewing it up. Unfortunately my camera couldn't pick up the true colors of the bag. The black was too black and you couldn't see the details, and the hot pink was always looking washed out. It didn't matter what kind of light I took the photos in either, the colors always came out gross. The above was taken outside and is probably the only photo that came out semi-decent. So sorry that the rest of the photos are blah.

This bag was quite the quick, easy, instant gratification sew (it seems like all my projects as of late are this kind). I think it took me a little over half an hour to sew, but would've been a little bit longer had I decided to add the button flap and buttons rather than just the simple contrast trim. I used a thick, cotton twill that reminds of a bull denim, in black for the body with contrasting hot pink (of course!) in a lighter weight twill for the trim and inside the strap. For the lining I used a black and hot pink cotton print fabric that I got at Fabricland for less than $5 a metre!

I wasn't about to sew in a pocket but changed my mind at the last minute. I figured I would probably use it to stash a tube of lipgloss or my debit card. The bag is small enough that I highly doubt I would lose or have a hard time finding anything in it. I was also thinking of using an extra large sew-in snap rather than a magnetic one, but decided to just use the latter since I had a bunch in my stash anyways. For some reason I sewed one of my (very) old labels that I used to use way back in the day...as in back in first year of school/end of high school. I guess I feel bad about having a bunch still and didn't want them to go to waste.

The only "true" photo I manage to take of the colors of the lining

I have a feeling that I (most likely) read the instructions wrong about the dimensions of the strap, cause mine turned out to be quite wide. So wide that it kinda looks funny on my petite shoulder. I'm hoping that with wear the twill will wear out a bit and lose some of its stiffness. If not, I was thinking of adding a little rectangular tube of fabric to make the strap look like a giant bow resting on the shoulder. I added an extra 5cm to the length, that way when the bag is hanging off my shoulder and I need to grab my keys/wallet/snack/whatever and I was holding the munchkin in the other arm I would still be able to grab whatever it was that I needed with the one hand.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this bag. I've been wanting a simple black handbag for quite a while now, since every gal needs a simple black bag in their wardrobe. I just hope that some day soon I'll be able to use it. I haven't been able to use any of my bags that can't hold a few diapers, wipes, and some toys in about 8 months, so I'm looking forward to the day when I can break out this bad boy. If not, I've added the larger size of this bag to my to-do list too!