cosmo bag - complete!

I did it. I made a huge bag from a pattern and I didn't screw it up! I got Style Stitches by Amy Butler out of the library last week and decided to make the Cosmo Bag. Not only is it the first bag in the book, but it might be the cutest one too!

The bag is a present for a friend who is super funky and stylish, so I sure hope it lives up to her style!

I used a cotton blend home decor weight fabric from ikea for the main body with a dark wash denim for the straps and exterior detail. For the lining I chose Kona cotton in Cerise. Overall, even though the pattern is super labor intensive, I really enjoyed making the bag. Other than one or two steps, most of it is really straight forward. I specifically love the pleating and the giant button covered in coordinating fabric.



I will say this for the pattern: it could have used a few more diagrams or photos. There are not enough. At a few points I was thoroughly confused and had to re-read the step several times. I was really glad to have found a few different sew alongs online that had extra pictures and explanations.

It was a real bonehead move for me to use denim for the straps and exterior detail. It was already really thick and then I added interfacing, and since the seams are all supposed to be ironed to the side, in some cases there were as many as 6 layers of interfaced denim at one seam. I re-sewed the top stitching around the edges of the handles 5 different times.



I added a little label on the inside of the bag to give it a little something special. I didn't really want to add a Superlative Sewing label so I made a cute little squiggle with a custom stitch on my machine.



I did make one change to the pattern. Instead of 2 floppy slip pockets on each side, I made 3 on one side and a zipper pocket on the other.

Now here's the crazy part: This bag took me over 12 hours to make! I'm really hoping that was mostly because I hadn't made it before and because of all the re-sewing of the top stitching because I want one for myself! Happy Birthday Mel!