At the end of April I participated in the PR handbag sew along; the following review was my very first on PR. I came across this interesting Italian wool fabric at Satin Moon and recalled this Vogue accessories pattern; view B has the shape and lines of a Kelly bag and was a good candidate for a structured handbag.
Pattern: Vogue 8485, Handbag View B
When you were finished, did it look like the photo on the pattern envelope? Yes
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes
Fabrics/Hardware: Heavy-weight black Italian wool with swirly white/black stitching and black lining material. Since I wanted the handbag to be able to stand up without collapsing under the weight of the handles and the hardware, I used stiff buckram interfacing, and I used polyscreen to stablize the interior magnetic closure as well as the bottom of the handbag. Black Rigilene boning provided additional support along the top and side seams.
I used rectangular-shaped, black polished wood handles, and I constructed the handbag strap out of the fashion fabric and interfacing along with two 1" swivel snap hooks and two 1" flat D rings. I, also, used a circular magnetic closure and four feet. All of the hardware has a nickel-plated finish.
Pattern Alterations or any design changes to the pattern: Since I was hoping to achieve a professional looking handbag, I did not want there to be any visible top stitching on the outside of the handbag. I attached the handles, the strap, and the lining by hand instead of with machine stitching; I interfaced the strap by machine and did the finishing stitching by hand.
The pattern specifies a zipper closure; when I buy a handbag, I usually prefer one without a visible zipper closure. I, also, wanted to be able to easily put an 8 1/2 x 11 inch note pad or book in the handbag, which might have been difficult with a zipper. I opted to use a magnetic closure instead of a zipper.
I used two 2 x 2 inch squares of polyscreen to stabilize the magnetic closure. I cut two tiny slits in the polyscreen and positioned it behind the lining fabric (see photo); I attached the magnetic closure, and stitched the polyscreen onto the interfacing along the right, left, and top sections of the square. The upper portion of the handbag holds together nicely when I open and close it.
Even though I was using fabric, I wanted my handbag to look structured versus floppy; I used a heavy-weight wool and a fairly stiff interfacing along the lining. Instead of using cardboard as directed in the pattern, I created a 17" x 6" bottom stabilizer out of three layers of polyscreen, which I basted together. While not specified in the pattern, I attached four square-shaped feet to the bottom of the handbag (2" from each end and 1" from each side); when I clamped the feet closed on the inside of the handbag, I used those clamps to secure the polyscreen stabilizer to the interior bottom of the handbag.
I used 5 inch handles instead of the specified 6 1/2 inch handles; I liked the finish and rounded edges on the particular rectangular handles that I chose. I did not alter the handle tab pattern because I used the extra 3/4 inch on each side of the tab as part of my fold over fabric; therefore, the two sides met in the center and gave a bit more support to the handles. (See photo) Additionally, I hand sewed 1/2" black Rigilene boning to the inside of both of the side seam allowances and along the top opening just under the seam allowance to further support the weight of the handles and hardware.
I interfaced the D ring tabs along with the strap, the handle tabs, and the entire body of the handbag. Hand sewing took a bit of time because after doubling over the interfaced wool, the tabs and strap were quite thick; however, I think the extra thickness helps the handbag stand together better than it would if I had not used the stiff interfacing. I shopped around online for the hardware and particularly like the shape/closure on these polished swivel snap hooks; I think they really enhance the look of the handbag.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? What would you do differently? This is a good basic pattern with four views. The pattern includes a 1/4" basting line along the length of the handbag strap; since my fabric was quite thick and my interfacing was fairly stiff, construction was a bit cumbersome. It would have been much easier to add another 1/2" or so to the width of the strap to allow for a 1/2" basting line.-- It could always be trimmed away after folding the fabric back and pressing. Also, given the stitching design on my wool, I played around with the placement of the pattern pieces before cutting; while I purchased the specified 3/4 yard of 60" fashion fabric, I have about a quarter of a yard of left over. I may be able to squeeze a hat out of the left over fabric, but I think I would just consider purchasing a little less fabric next time.
Conclusion: This is the first time I made a handbag; it was a fun little project. I am very happy with the end result, and I would make it again for myself or for a gift.
