Easy Street Patterns by Chris W Designs - Abby's Alley

How exciting to see a new line of bag patterns from Chris W Designs!  I love Christine's detailed bags that take some time to cut out and to sew.  I am always so happy with the results.  But once in a awhile I just want to make something that takes less time but still looks great that I can make for craft markets.  Enter the Easy Street Patterns.  Christine released the first two bags today.  I was lucky enough to test both.  Today, I'll share my Abby's Alley Tote Bag and tomorrow, my Brandt's Boulevard Wallet.

I have had this fabric for awhile (Woodsy Winter by Hoffman Fabrics) and was looking for the perfect bag to use it.  Abby's Alley was that perfect pattern.  The bag is big (18"W x 12.5"H x 5.25"D), so it gave me room to use a large print or a print like this that needed some length to show off its beauty.

The front and back are the same and the inside duplicates the outside of the bag.  That leaves 4 large pockets on the exterior and 4 large pockets on the interior.  The original pattern calls for square grommets and uses rope for the handle.  I love that summery look but this was a wintry fabric and I decided to use oval grommets and webbing for the handles.

There are optional bag feet on the bottom.

The inside is neat and clean

This pattern works with very large pattern pieces.  Give yourself plenty of room to cut and assemble.

Christine calls these patterns Sew and Sell.  She is right.  This bag sold at the first market I did after I made it.  Cardinals are our state bird and I had several interested buyers.  Unfortunately for me, I can't find any more of this fabric anywhere.  If anyone sees any, let me know.

A few other things about this line.  The number of pages of directions has been cut considerably but don't worry, there are still enough detailed pictures to make assembly easy.  The other thing is that this pattern line is less expensive.  Don't we all like that?

You can get the Abby's Alley pattern here or you can get both of the Easy Street patterns at a discount here.

Tomorrow I will show you the second pattern in this line, Brandt's Boulevard Wallet.  Isn't that a special name??

Just the Ticket Luggage Tag from Uniquely Michelle

I love being a pattern tester for several bag designers.  That is what I do,  make  bags.  But once in a while those bag designers come up with a project that is not a bag and that is fun, too. Today, I get to share with you a project that I had the pleasure to test...Just the Ticket Luggage Tag by Uniquely Michelle.

This is a great project that uses smaller pieces of fabric from your stash.  I used some 10" squares from a layer cake that I had.  This is Moda Figures by Zen Chic.  I love the privacy cover that snaps over the ID window.

This is the privacy cover open.  As you can see, there is an opening at the top of the ID window where you can slide a business card.

Think about how fun this would be to hold a gift card, too.  A double gift.

This is what the back looks like.  What a fun, fast project that would be great as a Christmas gift.  The only change that I made to the pattern was to cut two separate strap pieces and piece them together because I was working with 10" squares  The luggage tag measures 3.25"W x 5.5"L with 6.25" long straps.  So cute!

Uniquely Michelle patterns are easy to follow with great directions and lots of pictures.  The pattern is available on Craftsy here.  It is also available on Etsy here.