Finally! I finished the second Pandora Charisma. It was mostly done after Friday night’s stitching session, but I made the strap after the meeting on Saturday.
I am much happier with the way the zipper opens after stitching down the excess binding fabric. I have to review the pattern to see where I misread about binding. I think I may have mentioned I will try foldover elastic next time.
I also think this bag looks pretty professional. It isn’t perfect, but it is very good.
After taking some photos, I realized I needed some zipper pulls! I had a couple of Ruby Star color wheels so I added those, though not to the front pocket. I want that pocket to stay hidden.
I put the strap on the side and tried it out as a cross body bag, but thought I might try out the sling function as well. I plan to take this on a trip and the sling style might be a better way to wear it on a trip. I suppose it depends on whether I am wearing a backpack.
The good thing is I can change the strap at any moment. The same strap works for wearing it as a sling and as a crossbody bag.
The webbing I chose was very thick, thus comfortable when the bag is on the heavy side. The thickness made the sewing difficult, however, even with the Harry Potter foot.
The pattern includes three different methods for making the strap. I combined a couple of the options for no good reason other than I felt like it. I think I will still rivet the strap in a couple of places. I am not sure I 100% like this strap and may make another.
I also used a different template for the Strap Connector tabs. I used a different decorative version from Sew Sweetness. I used the Diamond vinyl to make the strap connector tab and am a little uncomfortable with the fact that edges are raw. Still, there will be no fraying, so I don’t what I am worried about.
The mesh pocket looks good and I hope it is useful.
In the photo, you can see the Ruby Star zipper pulls I mentioned. The metal is gold, not rainbow, but I think it is ok. I probably mentioned that I used various labels on this bag. Why not?
I notice that there are some places where items could fall out from the bottom. I guess that is why there are pockets.
On the opposite side from the mesh pocket is the vinyl pocket. One of the things about vinyl pockets is I can see the beautiful peonies in the Philip Jacobs Brocade Peony fabric I used.
In thinking about using this bag, I think the vinyl pocket is where my pens will be housed. I didn’t think about pens before. I may make a specific pen holder/pocket and attach it to the gusset, if I make this bag again.
The key leash is built in, so I won’t have to worry about switching a leash from bag to bag in order to keep my keys clipped to my handbag.
I made the bag pocket using the fatter gussets as someone else in the Sewfisticated group did, so that it opens wider.
I added another vinyl pocket to the back section. It covers an interior zipper pocket. This vinyl pocket is shorter than the one described above. It might be a better candidate for pens. We’ll see.
Finally, I am really happy that the tablet/computer sleeve, because it fits my tablet. I didn’t think it would. The sleeve looks really small in the bag and my tablet just fits. It is almost like the bag was made for my tablet, which it wasn’t. The only thing I would do differently is put the tablet sleeve against the main part of the bag next time. The pattern has its placement against the outside of the bag / the back panel. I think the fabric would be less likely to rip with a heavy tablet housed there if it were swapped with the second vinyl pocket.
I am looking forward to using this bag. Yes, I plan to use it soon. I am contemplating not using it until after next year’s Fair, but I think that might be too long to let it just sit around.
