Laura Purse

Svetlana over at Sotak Handmade has done it again! Her newest pattern, the Laura Purse, is out today. I had the privilege of pattern testing the bag for her these last few weeks. I love pattern testing! Especially for Svetlana, as her patterns are so well done. The hardest part of testing is keeping things a secret from you!

The first bag I made was using some of Joann's quilting cottons. It was barely finished when Ally snatched it out of my studio and claimed it for her own. I was lucky to get it back from her for some photos! 

This purse is a good sized bucket bag, with an interior zipper pocket and a slip pocket too. It's very sturdy, with canvas as the interlining. I was afraid of the grommets but I shouldn't have been! A few whacks with a hammer & they went in perfectly. The shoulder strap is removeable & the drawstring tie closes it all up neat and tidy (and is a great design feature too).

 

I had a hard time deciding whether to use the cute stripe or the floral for the exterior of the bag!

After Ally ran off with my original, I decided to make another bag for me. While shop hopping nearby quilt stores to collect my row by row patterns, I found the perfect fabric at Not Your Mama's Quilt Shop in Plano. It's called "Wove it or Weave it" by Michael Miller & I seriously want to go back and buy up the entire line.

The "solid" blue is Peppered Cotton that I picked up at Urban Spools (and yes, I bought several colors) Seriously, this is my new favorite purse. It's so spacious, I can fit everything but the kitchen sink in there!

I have always been terrible at inset zipper pockets, but I followed Svetlana's directions and both purses came out great! not a tuck or bubble in sight. whew!

It took me one pretty solid day of sewing for each bag. Totally worth it for the awesome finished product. This is a pattern I'll return to again for sure.

You can buy your copy of the pattern here. Thanks so much Svetlana for letting me test this one out! It's a keeper.