cross-body purse: sew serendipity

I checked out the book 'Sew Serendipity Bags' from the library and absolutely loved the book.  So many great bags ... it was tough to pick which one to make first.

Here's the 'cross-body purse'. 

They turned out really cute. I found the fabric at Hobby Lobby (yup, they have cute fabric!) and paired it with kona cotton charcoal.

 

The small bag is 9"x7.5", the large bags are 10"x9".  I swapped out the 'twist' lock and used magnetic snap closures ... since that's what I had. 

I adore the hardware on this bag.  I found the swivel clasps and d-rings at Hobby Lobby (1/2 off.  Yea!)  I finally found the double-loop slider (the cool piece of hardware that lets the strap be adjustable) on etsy.   I interfaced them with my favorite super thick and stiff interfacing peltex 71 and craft-fuse.

 

 

This bag was rated as 'intermediate' - and it definitely is.  I need a bit more practice sewing bias tape. It looks okay from the front, but it's not so pretty from the back.  And sewing the flap to the bag body didn't go smoothly.  It took several tries, 2 broken needles,  and I finally called it good enough.  No pictures of that seam, but trust me - it's icky.

I like them ... but they're just not as useable as I wanted them to be.  They'll hold a wallet, keys, a really small cell phone, and maybe a tube of chap stick.  But that's it. I don't think you could even squeeze in a pen or tissues.  The opening needs to be completely flat in order for the bag to close.   Other than that, they're adorable.  I'm just not sure what I'm going to use them for.