A couple of cute pouches

I needed a break from sewing clothing, because clothing is very tricky!  It has to fit, be comfortable, be cute, and be well-made so it doesn't look "Becky Home-Ecky".  Not so easy to execute, as it turns out.  Pouches are the perfect antidote to the stress of garment sewing.

The first pouch was from a tutorial published by a hilarious woman who is quickly becoming my favorite sewing blogger.  It's one that she calls the "Straight-Sided Flat-Bottomed Pouch".  It's quite a mouthful, but it is the perfect description of the pouch.

Why the "R" on the pouch?  It's for something to be revealed later.

The second pouch was not so successful, mainly because I didn't line up the pleather patches so well, and also because I kind of messed up the pleather by getting too close with the iron and proved just how synthetic it all was by melting part of it.  The tutorial was fine, but it would have worked better with actual leather (as the tutorial called for, rather than the stretchy pleather I used).  Notice how the triangles don't actually line up, as would have been aesthetically pleasing.

You can see on the triangle on the right where I kind of steamed off part of the "pleather".  Whoops!  The pouch is still functional, but not worth actually gifting to someone.  Ahem.  I guess I can use it for holding, um, Q-tips or something like that when we travel, right?

Side Tie Bag with some extra features

I made a different Side Tie Bag last week (but haven't posted about it yet because it has yet to be given to the recipient!) and liked it, but though it needed a couple of things.  I love interior zipper pockets and it would be nice if the purse also zipped close (or used a magnetic snap) at the top.  Erin wanted me to make her a purse using the pleather I had sewn the Hobo Bag with, so I decided this was going to be the project.  She also loves interior pockets in a purse and she preferred that the purse zip closed at the top.

Check out the cute pleather gusset and the side ties!  I used parachute cord instead of sewing fabric ties, because they look way cooler.

In order to put in an interior pocket, I couldn't use the technique I normally used because it would fight with the seam in the multi-panel lining.  So, I decided to stick the zipper between two of the panels in the lining, adding some material at the ends of the zipper to fill in the gap.  I totally winged it and probably couldn't recreate the exact method if I tried, but I think it worked out surprisingly well.  Probably would have looked cuter with a white zipper, but I was out of them and impatience won over aesthetics.  The lining fabric matches Sonia's May Day Skirt!

But the coolest part is the gusset zipper I winged for the top.  I couldn't put it all the way down the width of the bag because it would have interfered with the side ties, but I think the purse still opens up enough with the shorter zipper.

The only problem with this bag is that now I want it.  Darn it!

Hobo bag with a pleather gusset

I bought some vinyl that has a leather imprint (yea for pleather!) in the remnant section at JoAnn's and have held on to it for months, just waiting for inspiration.  I had no idea how hard it would be to sew with, but after sewing with oilcloth I figured this wouldn't be too tough.  This is a really soft pleather, actually, so I bet sewing with a stiffer vinyl would be a little harder to manage.  Anyway, I also had a cute home decor weight fabric remnant that I knew would be fun for some kind of a bag, and when I saw this tutorial I finally had the inspiration I needed to pair them together.  The lining fabric is actually cut from an old pack 'n' play sheet, and it doesn't match as well as I would have liked.

I totally cheated and didn't do the fabric painting and I didn't put the zippered pocket in because I didn't have a good zipper on hand that would have looked good.  Also, don't look very close at the d-rings holding the straps on, because three are a darker tone of silver and the fourth is a brighter one.  The goal here was to work with what I had in my stash, and you can't really tell anyway.  I had no idea how this whole sewing with pleather experiment would work out, so I also didn't want to go crazy on the details before I knew I had a chance to make a decent-looking finished product.  It's a pretty big bag -- probably bigger than I currently need as an everyday purse, but it would be good to carry along extra changes of clothes and snacks for the kids when we go out somewhere.  Here's a shot of me holding it for a sense of scale:

One complaint I always have about hobo bags in general (not about the pattern or tutorial -- those were terrific!) is the lack of structure.  I had to cram a bunch of towels in the bag to get it to hang nicely for the picture.  I could have added some interfacing to the exterior fabric, and if I made the bag again I definitely would.  I was just petrified of adding bulk when working with the pleather -- a completely unfounded fear.

I especially love the pleather straps.  I followed the tutorial's suggestion to fold the pleather in thirds and then stitch down both sides.  I then added a row of stitching down the middle of the strap as well for good measure, and the straps are super comfy on my shoulder.  I had some issues with sewing straight on the top stitching (seriously, I would be a TERRIBLE surgeon) so it's not the most professional-looking bag, but it did turn out pretty cute.