Gold Town Bag - Weekend Sewing

Town Bag from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross
Made from vintage fabrics & new notions
Gold velveteen from thrift store, Brown cotton plaid inherited from Grandma
I love these fabrics. The velveteen is luscious and matches perfectly with the plaid.

The strap on the bag has lobster clasps on the ends and loops through a series of D-rings for a slouchy, casual look. I had a hard time finding lobster clasps and eventually found them at a notions store in downtown LA called Zip-Up Zipper. I chose gold metal to match the fabric and I love the look.

The construction of the bag was a little tricky. First, the pattern instructions are written for leather. Since I used a fabric that frays, I had to make adjustments to the side panels and straps. Sewing the side panels and D-rings to the bag is a little time consuming and tricky. I think it would have been easier if I had used the tape suggested for use with leather to hold the panel in place. I mostly relied on the illustrations to complete the project and found that the proportions of the drawings are not to scale. The only major change I made was the strap. I initially made a strap 1.5 inches wide and 36 inches long. The strap was not like the photo in the book. It was too short and too thick, with the bag hanging above the hip level. So, I adjusted the strap to make it about 5/8 inch wide and 60 inches long. Perfect! I really love this bag. I recommend the pattern, with adjustments for an extra long strap. Also, an inside pocket would be a nice addition. The project may be challenging for a beginning sewer but should be easy for an intermediate level sewer.