Purse-Palooza 2013

 Here it is. My Entry for Purse Palooza 2013! I have named it The Bulldog Bag.Why?

Well, as I was picking out the fabric, I wanted a classic look that would look good this fall, so I went with this grey twill. I love twill for making bags! It is a great weight of fabric and I feel like it will stand up to much abuse and I think It might even hold a kitchen sink :) which I may or may not carry in my bags:))))))))))))))))) Anyway, grey and crimson are my old high school colors. Benjamain Bosse High School is where I graduated So I'm a Bosse Bulldog. This is the exact grey, so I thought hey, what a great name. It wasn't until I was almost finished with the bag before I realized how much the lines of the bag actually sorta kinda mimic a bulldog face. It was then I knew that is what the name should be.

In preparing for this challenge, I came across a bag that I absolutely loved by Michael Kors. This particular bag goes for $995.00. No way would I ever pay that no matter how much I love MK. I pretty much recreated this bag. You can look here and see how I did. I looked that bag over carefully and drafted a pattern.

I'm a sucker for well made hardware and Emmaline Bags added this new little blingy thing to her stock. I think it really polishes the bag!

I didn't go with crimson for the interior. I does have pockets although it may be hard to tell with that print!

This is the first time I have added purse feet. Love them!

The handle was a challenge to say the least. I tried a couple others that just weren't doing the bag justice. I wish I would have taken a photo, but they had hardware on them and , well, I cut the hardware off before I thought to take a photo. I did a simple flat strap with the same round studs I used as feet. It looked to limp for the bag. Next I tried a thick corded handle. I cut my fabric on the bias for it, but the handle wanted to flip one way on one side, and the other way on the other side. When I straightened out the arc for how it should sit, there were ripples all the way through. The only thing I can figure is I didn't cut on the TRUE bias. My last ditch attempt, I saw a ready made handle at Joanns I thought I could re-create. You can see it here. But after I got it almost made, I decided it too, was to wimpy for this bag. Then my brain started storming with this one grey cord in my hand, I I thought, what if I double up and twist them together???? So I went for it! I think It was pretty perfect for this bag! And really, it was easier to make then it looks! So easy, I made a longer one in case I want to swap it out for a shoulder strap

I know it looks kind of goofy with this long strap standing up, haha! Let me know if anyone is interested in a tutorial of this strap! It's looks complex, but really, it's not!!!

So there you have it. I will be working on another variation of this bag in a more fun fabric for this challenge.I can't wait to see all of the bags at Purse Palooza 2013 with Sara from Sew Sweetness!