A Bag To Swoon Over

I thought I would preempt our usual Monday Morning Inspiration post and let you know that the first week of the Swoon Patterns Stella Weekender Bag Sew Along is up on the Sew News blog. 

In this week's post, I've tried to show you every aspect of the bag, all the pockets(and there are many), the handles as well as the shoulder strap.

You also find info on a few aspects about the pattern that might be confusing. A couple of the pattern pieces have to be folded down in order to obtain other pattern pieces. There are also a few pieces that you will have to draw out. Don't let that scare you. The pieces are just simple rectangles, so super easy.

I've also given you a list of all the supplies that you will need. So a good running start even if you don't have the pattern yet.

Bunny of La Sewista is making the Stella as a diaper bag for a new mom. Be sure to pop over to her blog as you'll be able to see the beginnings of her bag. During the sew along, I'll be sharing pictures of her bag as well as some of her insights on construction. She mentioned that nothing is said in the instructions about piping. Piping is not necessary for the bag, but if you look at my bag, you'll see that I did add piping. In next week's post, we will go over piping. We'll talk about how to make piping and where you might like to pipe this bag.

In case you are wondering about the fabric that I used for my bag, it's a barkcloth fabric. I LOVE barkcloth and I have a few pieces of true vintage barkcloth. You may remember the fabric that I used for the Amy Butler Beautiful Belle Bag that I did for my very first sew along for Sew News. It's a piece from my collection of vintage barkcloth. I love this bag!

The fabric I used for the Stella Weekender Bag came from a fun little store here in Chicago called Oak Fabrics. The fabric is sadly not upon their website, but I will do my best to stop over this week and see if I can get a link to the fabric. Both were in stock the last time I was in the store.

If you think you might like to join along, you can find a PDF version of the pattern HERE on the Swoon Patterns website, and for those of you who prefer paper, you can find a paper version HERE at Shop Sew It All.  

The bag is a little challenging, lots of pockets and zippers, but I think that I will be able to walk you through the process and you'll end up with a fabulous bag. After all Swoon Patterns are fabulous :) There's even a group of devoted fans who call themselves Swooners! What fun :)

Have a wonderful week!
Rhonda