Lots of firsts!

This is my very first blog post and I couldn't think of anything better to start with than my first commissioned project. One of my internet friends is getting married (congrats!) and I made three purses with matching wristlets as gifts for her bridesmaids. This was also my first experience working with commercial patterns, and I've got to say, they didn't exactly make the best first impression.

Using this Vogue pattern (far left and right bags) produced purses nearly two feet wide! Obviously, some editing was in order and the end products turned out like so:

(Please pardon the shoddy iPhone pictures. This phone is good for many things, photography not being one of them.) This bag was made using the All Cotton Sage Alexander Henry fabric. It was my first time to use the button hole feature on my sewing machine, an experience I am not in a hurry to repeat!

The fabric used for this bag is Tapestry Cinnamon from the Del Hi fabric collection by Valori Wells for Free Spirit. I left off some of the embellishments from the original pattern because, quite frankly, I thought they made the bag appear a little too "old lady" and not in a good way.

The third bag was created using this Simplicity pattern (bottom left.) I didn't make any changes to this pattern, and I actually wound up liking the end result much much more than I thought I was going to.

All of the bags have interior pockets, but the pocket in this one has a zipper! And it was surprisingly easy to install. Go figure.

The fabric for this bag is no longer in stock at Sew, Mama, Sew! so I can't find the exact designer, but my account summary lists it as Flower Field Summer ~ Night and Day 2.

And the wristlets!

The one on top isn't really that much smaller than the other two, this picture was just taken at a weird angle. I didn't use any particular pattern for these, they're just very basic pouches with a zipper and small strap.

This was a really challenging project considering that everything I had made prior to these purses was using tutorials I found online on other people's blogs, like the Margaret bag tutorial I found on Oh, Fransson! I wouldn't have opted to use commercial patterns had it not been for the fact that these items were being sold for profit. Given that everything else I make is solely for personal use or for gifting to family and friends, I think I'm going to stick with the online tutotials. A) The tutorials are usually easier to follow, and B) I prefer to link back to another crafter's blog than to a commercial website.

Here is my rendition of the Margaret bag that I made for my sister's birthday last month, which was also my first homemade purse (if you don't count the purse I made in highschool using a karate belt, place mats, and safety pins.)

Aside from my desperate need for some better quality photos, I think I'm off to a great start.