One of the many things I subscribed to at the beginning of the year was the Bag of the Month Club. Basically you sign up and they send you a new bag pattern each month for 6 months (and if you signed up in January like I did, you got a discount). I found out about through Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness (whose designs I really like — I also have both of her books). Based on how much bag patterns cost and the fact that I would get try some patterns by some new folks, I thought it sounded like fun.
The first bag was the one above — the Backgammon Bag by Betz White. I was really happy with how this bag turned out. It’s a great size, roomy but not huge. The instructions were great.
I used essex linen for most of the bag, with Alison Glass sunprints for the accents and lining. I love the way the dots print looks like little bubbles rising in the bag. 🙂
The only modification I made was to add a key fob (the strap hanging out — see picture below for a better view of that) and an extra slip pocket. I would add these to any purse. I like to put my work ID and some pens/pencils in the slip pocket and I like to have my keys on the key fob if I’m headed to my car at night so I can get to them more quickly for safety reasons.
Otherwise, this is pretty much how the instructions describe it. All the hardware was available at JoAnn’s (yay!) and I had the fabric and interfacing.
And the strap is adjustable so I can wear it over my shoulder or as a cross body. So far very happy with the subscription!