Pink & Green Hobo Bag

Yesterday I started making a Hobo Bag from a pattern that I purchased on Etsy. The shop that sells the pattern is called Sweet Pea Totes and she has some really nice patterns. The fabrics are the Michael Miller I originally purchased to use for a second Amy Butler Cosmos but decided to never make that bag again because it took so long, you can read about the Amy Butler Cosmos here.

This is the second pattern from Sweet Pea Totes that I've used and both patterns were fairly easy to follow with lots of pictures and very good instructions. There were only three problems I had with the first pattern and I'm having similar problems with the second one.

First, the patten comes as a PDF file like most patterns you buy on Etsy, however, she included so many pictures in the file that it was over 40 pages. I like to print the instructions so I can keep them by my machine as I sew. Forty pages with pictures is an awful lot of ink and ink is expensive. I'm not sure how to fix this problem but maybe have a short version and a long version. The short version would have just the text in steps. That version could be printed and if there's a question that needs a pic, one could go to the computer for clarification.

Second, and on both patterns, she doesn't have the cutting instructions first. She'll cut a piece, then iron on the interfacing, do some sewing. Then the instructions have you cut another piece, interfacing, sewing. Repeat. I like to cut out the entire pattern while I have the fabric laid out. So before I can start cutting, I have to go through the entire pattern and write down how many pieces of each needs to be cut. A cutting layout would be nice too but one's not included.

Lastly, on the first pattern I made, I printed the materials page and took it to the store. When I got there I realized she did not specify how much coordinating fabric to buy for the exterior. The picture that I bought the pattern from had two coordinating fabric on the exterior, the material list only gave one measurement for the exterior. I had to guess how much to buy and over bought. She also indicated that I needed 2 yards of interfacing. It seemed a bit much but I went ahead and purchased just in case, I knew I'd always be able to use it on another purse. In hindsight, the 2 yds was probably a typo, it should have said 1/2 yd.

All in all the patterns are good and an experienced sewer will have no problem using the pattern and lining things up in a more efficient way. This Hobo Bag I'm making is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be but it's still going to be really cute. I definitely will buy more of her patterns since they are easy to make and I can alter them into other designs.

I should be able to finish this tomorrow night - watch for it on Etsy Saturday. It's going to be a really cute bag!

Till later ~

Reba