My hand bag is finally finished! It didn’t actually take that long to put the bag together, but if you’ve been following along with my Build-a-Bag series you will know I had a few dramas with my fabric order so a lot of waiting for the post was involved. I am glad I resized and re-ordered the fabric…I think the size of the sunflowers is perfect now!

I am so thrilled with how the bag turned out and I’m looking for an excuse to make another one! I’m not really the sort of girl that changes handbags often, so I’ll have to wait for this one to die before I start another one. It is a pretty Summery bag, so maybe I’ll need to make one up for next Winter??

As you may know, the pattern I used is the Emmaline Bag. I found the pattern very easy to follow and the designer, Janelle has many extra tutorials on her blog to help you get the best out of your bag. I followed her tutorial to make my faux leather straps. They came out so professional looking.

I added an exterior pocket to the bag which is not included in the pattern. I love having a little pocket on the outside of a bag to quickly chuck things into, so this extra was a must. To make the pocket pattern, I simply traced around the centre piece after adding the pleat. I added a strip of faux leather piping to the edge of the pocket.

I made a few changes to the inside of the bag too. I split the lining piece into 2 horizontally so that the top would have a panel made from exterior fabric. I like that when the bag is snapped shut, you don’t see the contrasting lining. I copied this idea from my old handbag.

I made the pocket extra wide so that it holds my phone, sunglasses and a pen all separately. I also added an extra slip pocket onto one end to hold my keys. I forgot to take a picture of it. To add it, I joined the sides of the lining together on one side only, then pressed the seam open and added the pocket so that it was centred over the seam.

The zip pocket was a great new skill to learn. It came out great, although I wish it was just a little deeper. I love the feel of the Spoonflower silk-cotton fabric in the lining, but it can be a bit slippery. If my bag is over my shoulder and I bend over, sometimes things can fall out.

I wish I had gone a little slower doing the topstitching along the top edge of the bag. It’s a little wonky. I’m thinking of unpicking it and re-doing it, but I’m a bit worried that there will be white holes left from the old stitching. I need to do a test run on a scrap first. Honestly, I’ll probably never get around to it.

Thank you for following along with my Build-a-Bag series. Making a bag from the very beginning and designing my own fabric was more fun than I could have imagined and I get a big smile on my face every time I look at my bag.

Have you been inspired by the series to try your own fabric design or bag making? I would love to know!

Earlier in the Build-a-Bag series:
Build-a-bag: The fabric – my fabric has arrived, but I’ve mucked it up
Build-a-bag: The little extras – take a look at all the other items you need to get when making a bag
Build-a-Bag: My swatches arrived – so how do my swatches compare?
Build-a-Bag: The Pattern – take a look at the pattern I’m using to make my bag
Build-a-Bag: Let’s Start at the Very Beginning – designing fabric with Spoonflower