Summer of Sewing--A New Bag

I have decided that it is time to do a little bit of sewing for me this summer. Also I needed a new bag. I almost always carry a cross body bag. I like to have my hands free and since I carry my purse everywhere, it's convenient to just wear it rather than find a safe place to keep it where it won't be bothered.

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For this summer's bag of choice, I sewed the Sandra Saddle Bag pattern by Swoon Sewing Patterns. I like that Swoon sewing patterns help me produce a high end and quality product that looks like it was bought in a store. People who don't know me, don't know and can't tell that I made my own bag. I like that. I have learned how to produce high quality bags and have also learned a thing or two about hardware and interfacing.

For this bag, I worked with a new type of fabric--vinyl. This particular vinyl happened to be in the remnant bin at my local JoAnn's. Of course I can never pass up a bargain in the remnant bin! One trick that I learned while sewing with vinyl is that in order for the presser foot to glide across the vinyl, you need either a teflon foot or a walking foot. I chose to use my walking foot, and I am very pleased to report how well it worked on the vinyl. In fact I love my walking foot so much that I have used it on almost every other project that I've sewn since this one!
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Changes that I made to the pattern: 

• I placed the zipper pocket on the back of the bag instead of in the inside. I wanted to be able to have quick and easy access to my cell phone. With this pocket on the back of the bag, I knew that it would be secure since it would be worn against my body and zipped shut. But I also didn't want to hassle with having to lift the front flap and dig through my purse to find my phone.

• I added 2 slip pockets into the inside of the purse. I made these to face the front of the bag so that the bulk from the items in the pockets wouldn't add to the bulk from the back zipper pocket.
• I didn't have the required hardware for this project on hand. Since I wanted to sew it right away, I improvised and placed the strap into the top seam instead of on the side of the bag.

I'm really pleased with my bag and have gotten several compliments on this one. Next I want to try to sew with cork. Which pattern should I use for that project?

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