Messenger Bag - selfish sew

I was thrilled to be selected to test the Jubilee Junction Patterns - Olivia - messenger style bag.  I have been looking for a good bag pattern and this was my first properly lined bag.    

I choose a brocade type home decor fabric in my favorite earth tones.  I just adore a good olive drab basket-weave!  I know its not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it. The fabric was difficult to work with because it is quite thick and messy when cut.  I used plain unbleached muslin for the lining.  I added lots of pockets in my muslin lining and had fun playing with the cams on my machine to create the green and pink flowers. I sewed it entirely on my vintage Singer 319. Love it and will make a small for fun one day soon!

The bag pattern is available here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/175869007/instant-download-pdf-jubilee-junction  The pattern has clear instructions and photographed steps.  It is a simple, beginner level pattern that can also be dressed up with embellishments, closures, pockets, etc.  

  



I also made this little tutorial that shows 

how I made my pockets:

 -From the lining fabric, cut 1 or 2 extra pieces the shape of the main body template, but cut the pocket piece several inches shorter.  For example, the size medium bag that I made has a body that is 12 ½ inches tall, I cut my 2 pocket pieces 9 ½ inches tall.  Then I folded over ½ inch along the top edge of each pocket, ironed, and then folded them down 2 inches and ironed.  Then I top stitched this to itself to form a nice hem for the top of the pockets.  

 


-For a full bag width pocket (the perfect size for a magazine!) that is all you need; you can go ahead and tack it to the lining main body before you pin and sew on the side piece.   

-You can also divide your pockets as needed.  Here you can see the large, full-width pocket on the left side of the photo and on the right is the back of my multi-pocket piece where I marked and sewed the outline for 2 main pockets, and 2 tiny side pockets for pens.  I decided to draw curved bottoms on the pockets to make small objects easier to grab and also made some shallow and narrow pen pockets on the sides.  It would be even easier to just sew vertical lines to divide the pockets.