Nightbloom Ashford Handbag
I do love gifting quilts, but sometimes you have to mix it up a bit, especially if you’ve already given a quilt, haha. Bags also make great gifts, especially if you have a special fabric on hand. The Nightbloom fabric by Meenal Patel inspired me to sew a bag for my friend’s birthday.
Ta da! This is the Ashford Handbag pattern by Svetlana of SOTAK Handmade. It was my first time sewing with one of her PDF patterns and what a success! Everything about the pattern was clear and easy-to-follow. I especially like that the fabrics are cut according to measurements, rather than printed-out pattern templates. I find measurements more precise and easier than bothering with paper. Plus, no paper waste!
SOTAK’s Etsy shop has a ton of choices for handbags and pouch patterns. I chose Ashford for its medium-size and the fun of combining a main print with an accent print as the bag’s bottom. I brought home two striped linens from trip to America. The one I’ve used for this bag is called Mochi Linen in Gold, and it’s still available at Dragonfly Quiltworks. I used the Azure Mochi Linen to recover my ironing board and now the Gold was perfect for this bag’s accent print and lining. A basic linen canvas often comes in handy.
The Ashford Handbag pattern also has an inset zipper pocket. I’ve never sewn this kind of pocket before, and wanted to learn the technique. Obviously a zip pocket is more practical and streamlined than my go-to sew-on patch pockets. Well, it wasn’t difficult to sew, even though I have a tendency to avoid zippers. Having clear instructions makes all the difference! I’ll definitely go this route again.
Also new-to-me: rivets. Svetlana uses a lot of rivets on her bags, and I always think that they look so nice. Setting rivets is just another one of those things that manages to intimidate for no good reason whatsoever. I bought the rivets from my local notions shop. I didn’t have a leather punch tool, but a simple awl did the trick for making holes. I set the rivets using my husband’s hammer without any issues.
I love the look!
All-in-all the whole experience was a rounding success. I sewed the bag in a half a day and think it turned out top notch. In fact, I’m wondering if my other friends will also like birthday bags? I may need to stock up on fun canvas prints!
