Today I would like to share my experience with one of Amy Butler’s handbag patterns with you.
It’s the blossom handbag/ shoulder bag from the book “Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags". I don’t own the book but this particular pattern can be downloaded for free from Sew Mama Sew!

What you see on the picture above is actually the second bag I made with this pattern and the first one really gave me a hard time so this is why I decided to talk a little bit about the pattern and share some tips.

Since there are already a lot of very good reviews on this pattern on the internet (just google “Amy Butler blossom handbag” and you will see) I am not going to show you a detailed step by step instruction of how I assembled my bag but rather focus on the parts that have been a bit tricky to me and give you tips that might be helpful for you if you should try this pattern.

First of all, if you don’t have the book and download the pattern from the above mentioned website you will get the pattern as a pdf. I always mention the following in my own patterns but since this one is not primarily a pdf pattern there was no extra hint, so that I made the first mistake at the very beginning:
When printing the pattern, make sure your printer settings (size options) are set to “actual size” and not to “fit”, otherwise the pattern will NOT have the right size!!
This will get you into a lot of trouble since there are a few rectangular pieces, which you will have to cut out according to the sizes in the instructions. If your printed pattern comes out too small all these other pieces won’t match the pattern anymore and I only noticed that after I had assembled the (slightly work-intensive yet really pretty) handles and attached them onto the bag. As a consequence, my flap wouldn’t fit anymore, so in order to make it fit I had to cut off quite a little bit of fabric of the flap, which slightly altered its distinct shape. Too bad but I had no choice.

The handles are the prettiest part on this handbag and it should be fairly easy to assemble everything. The instructions for the handles don’t come with pictures but only with illustrations, which I think should be no problem since they are very detailed and of good quality. Someone with intermediate sewing skills should be able to rely on the written instructions only, combined with the illustrations for the trickiest parts.

The bag closes with a magnetic snap. I love using magnetic snaps, since they are easy to apply and look really professional. The instructions tell you to insert the male part of the magnetic snap into the flap. I did so, being extra careful to place it centered.

After that you are supposed to insert the female part into the front exterior main panel. This is something that I come across very often with sewing patterns but I find it kind of risky to insert the closure into the single pieces at the very beginning. It means you will have to be extra special careful when sewing together all the different pieces, let alone cutting them out! This is why I always wait with inserting the other part of the closure until I have assembled the “basic structure” of the bag. Specifically, this means you can do so before you close stitch the lining of your bag.
What I recommend is pinning the flap onto the back of the bag, so that you can see where the upper part of the closure (the one on the flap) would go when I close down the flap. I use the measurements in the instructions for help to make sure, the bottom part of the snap doesn’t move too much to the top or the bottom edge of the front part of the bag. After marking the spot with a pen it is now that I insert the female part of the magnetic snap. This method might not be for everyone but for me it always worked out well so far and I never had to get furious because I ended up with the closure parts in the wrong spots, not matching together.

The pattern calls for extra heavy stabilizer like Peltex 70 by Pellon but I am not that big a fan of these kinds of interfacings, so I went with Decovil (a German brand but available online in the US) for the first bag and fusible fleece for the second bag for a slouchy look. I also have to admit, as nice as the structure of the first bag looks thanks to Decovil, sewing extra heavy stabilizer with these kinds of bag patterns is not my favorite thing to do. I would never recommend that for a beginner of sewing since the layers that you will have to sew will get so thick, it’s really a challenge to move it along under the sewing machine, keeping your seam straight at the same time. And try to find the appropriate needles to handle it in the first place! I ended up using a leather needle for the part where you have to stitch the dividers into the bag because others just broke (I think I lost a total of three sewing needles in one evening...). This was one of the reasons I went with fusible fleece for the second bag. The shape is not quite as nice as the first one’s but at least sewing all these layers and around the curves was a real pleasure this time ;-) 

Another part that was a bit confusing to me was making the divider panel with the zip pocket. I think it would have helped to have at least some illustrations or even pictures with the instructions, however, I ended up making a simple “zipper pouch” that I inserted as the divider panel. For those of you who should have similar problems, you can check out my tutorial on an easy zipper pouch” here in my blog and then use it as a divider panel just like I did.

Attaching the dividers is actually the very last step to complete your blossom handbag. This is the part I mentioned above where you will have to be sewing through very thick layers of fabric and interfacing. After finding the right spots for the dividers (as given in the instructions) you are supposed to pinch the top of the side panel around each end of the divider. I didn’t even try to use pins for that step because they would obviously not have survived it :-) This is when I like to use sewing clips to hold everything in place. I found mine in a local fabric store in the quilting notions section.

I decided to stitch parallel to the side edge of the divider panels for about 10 cm (4“) in contrast to what the instructions tell you. First of all this holds the dividers better in place (since they are not attached to the bottom of the bag but only to the side panels) and I also felt like this would make them more stable and less likely to tear off.

I am pretty happy with how the second bag turned out. Since I can’t sell it in my shop (there’s a copyright on Amy Butler’s bag patterns) and I already own far too many handbags, I will donate this bag to a local silent auction here in Rochester, NY. I hope it’s going to raise some good money and its future owner will enjoy it!

So my original plan was to post a review of a bag pattern by Amy Butler (the blossom handbag/ shoulder bag) since I have already made two bags with this pattern. It is a really pretty bag pattern but I had some trouble with the instructions here and there and sort of improvised.  As part of that, I used a different way to create a zippered pocket that goes into the blossom bag as a divider (see on the left picture). Since I had a little bit of trouble making this zippered divider following Amy's instructions, I decided to simply make a zippered pouch and insert that into the bag. Making a pouch like that is not really difficult but it can be a little tricky to get the exterior and lining fabric pieces all attached to the zipper in the right way, so I decided to post a tutorial about this first, before I share my experiences about the blossom bag with you ;-)
I hope this tutorial will help you to make a simple yet nice and practical zipper pouch.

--- For your convenience I decided to offer the complete tutorial as a PDF for download for only $2, if you prefer to have everything in one structured document ---

You will need
- two pieces of exterior fabric (decide on the size of your finished pouch and add approx. 1 cm
  (3/8") for seam allowance on all four edges)
- two pieces of lining fabric (size: see above)
- two small pieces of fabric for the zipper tab, approx. 4 x 4 cm (1.5 x 1.5")
- one zipper, approx. 6 cm (2.5") shorter than the width of your fabric pieces

step 1) Prepare the zipper
What I like to do first is add a sort of tab at both ends of the zipper. This is helpful later, when you sew the fabric pieces together because the zipper teeth won’t get in your way and your seams and edges of the pocket/pouch will look really neat!
On the two small pieces of fabric, fold down one of the edges toward the wrong side and put the tabs with those clean edges onto either end of the zipper. Pin you tabs down and topstitch along the clean edge.

If your zipper is too long, cut from the top part, just watch out you won’t lose your zipper head; I recommend handstitching the open ends together like this, so there’s a stop to the zipper head.

step 2) Attach exterior fabric piece no. 1 and lining fabric piece no. 1 to the zipper
Place one of the exterior fabric pieces right side up and put your zipper onto it, wrong side up and the edges matching. Pin down and stitch along the edge with your zipper foot of your sewing machine.
Put one of your lining fabric pieces wrong side up on top of the exterior fabric piece right and the zipper. The right sides of both exterior and lining fabric should now be touching. Make sure the edges match and pin in place. You will now be sewing along the previous stitching.

Fold the two fabric pieces over, so that you can see the zipper and press. One part of the zipper is now sandwiched in between the two fabric pieces. The two wrong sides of the exterior and lining fabric should now be touching.

step 3) Attach exterior fabric piece no. 2 and lining fabric piece no. 2 to the zipper
The part you have just made should be right side up (you should be able to see the right side of the zipper with the zipper head and the exterior fabric piece)
Put your other exterior fabric piece wrong side up on top of the second edge of the zipper. Again the edges should be aligned, sew along the edge with the zipper foot of your sewing machine.
Now flip the whole piece over, so that the wrong side of the zipper is up. You should now see the lining fabric of the already finished part from step 2. The exterior fabric which you have just sewn onto the zipper should be hidden under all those layers.
Put the remaining lining fabric piece wrong side up on top of the zipper. Like in step 2, stitch along the zipper edge once again, directly on top of the previous stitching. Fold the fabric over again and press.

step 4) Finish up the bag
Now you will have to sew both the exterior fabric pieces and the lining fabric pieces together to create the actual pouch.
Open the zipper and put both exterior fabric pieces on top of each other and both lining fabric pieces on top of each other with their right sides together.
Pin in place and stitch all around the three edges of the exterior fabric pieces.
Do the same with the lining fabric pieces but leave an opening of approx. 10 cm (4”).

Turn the pouch inside out by pulling the exterior through the opening in the lining fabric part. Fold the seam allowance of the opening down towards the inside, pin in place and topstitch the opening close. Put the lining part into the exterior part and iron everything.

Your zipper pouch is now complete!

I promised to post this tutorial for my cute little travel sleeve before I go on vacation, so here it comes! It should be easy enough for a confident sewing beginner, but you should be familiar with the basic sewing terms ;-) Happy sewing!
This tutorial is free but if you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.

You need:
Exterior fabric
Lining fabric
Fusible fleece (thin)
Fusible interfacing
1 button
1 snap hook
1 piece of elastic string, approx. 8 cm (3.25”)

Cut:
Note: these measurements are for iPhone 5 but you can adjust the size to your phone:
For the case take the measurements of your phone and add 5 cm (2”) to both length and width. Cut out your main fabric piece according to this size.
For the flap subtract 1 cm (3/8“) from the width of your main fabric piece. The length should be a little more than the third of the length of the main fabric piece.
For the front pocket take the width of your main fabric piece. As with the flap, the length should be a little more than the third of the length of the main fabric piece.

All measurements are length x width and fit an iPhone 5
exterior fabric:
for the case (main fabric piece): 1 piece of fabric 18 x 16 cm (7.25 x 6.25”)
for the flap: 1 piece of fabric 8 x 15 cm (3.25 x 5.75“)
for the front pocket: 1 piece of fabric 7 x 16 cm (2.75 x 6.25”)
for the strap: 1 piece of fabric 8 x 27 cm (3.25 x 10.75“)

lining fabric:
for the case (main fabric piece): 1 piece of fabric 18 x 16 cm (7.25 x 6.25”)
for the flap: 1 piece of fabric 8 x 15 cm (3.25 x 5.75“)
for the front pocket: 1 piece of fabric 7 x 16 cm (2.75 x 6.25”)

fusible interfacing:
for the lining case: 1 piece 18 x 16 cm (7.25 x 6.25”)
for the exterior flap: 1 piece 8 x 15 cm (3.25 x 5.75“)
for the lining front pocket: 1 piece 7 x 16 cm (2.75 x 6.25”)

fusible fleece:
for the exterior case: 1 piece 18 x 16 cm (7.25 x 6.25”)

Instructions:
All seam allowances are 1 cm (3/8“) unless stated otherwise.
Interface all the fabric pieces with the respective interfacing and fleece pieces.

1. Make the strap:
Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and press. Open up again and fold the two long edges towards the center crease. Press again. Put the two long edges on top of each other and press again. Now topstitch along both long edges, approx. 0,3 cm (1/8“) from the edges. Slide a snap hook over the strap and set it aside.

2. Make the flap:
Take your elastic string, fold it in half and put it onto the center right side of one of the long edges of the exterior flap fabric, with the loop lying on the fabric, and the open ends being aligned with the fabric raw edge. Baste in place.
Put the two flap pieces (lining and exterior) right sides together. Stitch along both short edges and the long edge on which you attached the elastic string. If you like, you can try a shape with an angle like I did (see first picture below).

Trim the seam allowances, turn right side out and press. Topstitch all around the edges of the flap, except for the raw edge, with a 0,3 cm (1/8“) seam allowance.

3. Make the front pocket:
Put the two front pocket pieces right sides together and stitch along both long edges. Turn right side out and press. Topstitch along one of the long edges, with a 0,3 cm (1/8“) seam allowance. Place the front pocket with its wrong side (lining side) onto the front part of the exterior main piece. The bottom edge of the pocket should be aligned with the middle crease of the exterior main piece (see picture below). Sew the pocket onto the fabric by topstitching along the bottom long edge of the pocket.
Put the strap onto the exterior main fabric like shown on the picture and baste in place (it should be positioned approx. 2,5 cm (1“) down from the bottom corner).

4. Make the exterior case:
Fold the exterior fabric piece right sides together and stitch along both short edges. Make sure the strap is hidden between the two layers. Turn right side out and press.

Take the flap and put it onto the back of the case, right sides together, with the raw edges aligned. Check the lenght of your flap by bending it over as if closing your case. If it appears too long, shorten it by cutting off from some fabric from the raw edge.
Pin in place and stitch with a 0,5 cm (0.25“) seam allowance.

4. Make the lining case:
Fold the lining fabric piece right sides together and stitch along both short edges but leave an opening of approx. 7 cm (2.75“) on one side. Leave wrong side out.

5. Assemble the case:
Take the exterior case right side out and put it into the lining case. Both right sides should now be touching. Pin in place and stitch all around the top corner. Make sure the flap is tucked inside and hidden between the two layers.

Take your button and handstitch it onto the center front pocket.

...And it's done! Have fun with this cute iPhone sleeve/travel case or whatever name you think fits best! ;-)

I ended up using this little sleeve almost everyday.. and not only on vacation! I love the fact that I can carry it around as a small yet stylish purse but still have all my essentials with me. How did your "travel sleeve" turn out? I would love to hear your feedback on this tutorial!

If you would rather prefer to download this complete tutorial as a pdf file you may purchase it here for only $2.