Easy Street Patterns by Chris W Designs - Brandt's Boulevard

I love being a tester for Christine at Chris W Designs.  Her patterns are so well put together and produce such professional bags.  In December, I introduced you to the first of her Easy Street Pattern Line, Abby's Alley and today I want to share her second pattern from the Easy Street Line.  I made this one in December as well but was down with a bug and then busy for the holidays, that I just realized that I had not shared the second one.  (and the third Easy Street pattern is about to be released) This one is very special to me.  Can you guess why???  It is the Brandt's Boulevard Wallet.  How fun is it to have a pattern named after you??  Christine is starting to name bags from this line after her testers and this one is all mine!

This wallet measures 7 1/4"W x 4 1/4"H x 7/8" D.  It has 4 credit card pockets, an ID pocket, a slip pocket for bills, a zippered coin pocket, a smaller slip pocket and a phone slip pocket that is big enough to carry my Samsung 5 in its otter box case.  That is a lot of stuff packed in to one wallet!

There will be many more of these in my future because this one sold right away...

And besides, it is my namesake, and I am one proud mama!  You can get the pattern here.

Up, Up & Away Add On - Double Up Version by Moments

Last post, I showed you the new passport wallet from Liz of Moments.  Can you believe that she already updated the pattern by adding a second option for the inside called Double Up?  This second version is for singles or couples that don't need to carry so many passports...and it is a free add on when you purchase her Up, Up & Away pattern on Craftsy here.  (If you have already purchased this pattern, you should be getting notification from Craftsy so you can download the additional free pattern).

How is the add on pattern different?  It still has room for a couple of passports on the left hand side but the right hand side has a zippered pocket with 2 slip pockets behind it for money and your cell phone.  The largest of cell phones with a case on, fits this pocket easily.

You can see pictures of the family version in my last post here.  This is a fun, quick wallet to make.  There are so many different options for the closure, too.  It is great for gift giving. The pattern is for confident beginners.

On this version, I used an upholstery fabric for the outside, a quilting cotton for the interior with the solid fabric being Kona cotton.  The D ring on the flap of the bag can hold any charm.  Here I added a suede tassel.

Thanks, Liz for letting me test this second version for you, too.  I look forward to the next one.

Up, Up & Away Passport Wallet by Moments

Happy New Year everybody!   I know I have been absent from this blog but I have many things to share with you.  Today I am excited to introduce a new pattern designer...Liz from Moments.  We have tested other designers' patterns together for quite some time and I was thrilled when she asked me to be a tester for her new pattern, her first... of many more to come, I hope.  It is The Up, Up & Away Family Passport Wallet.

 This is a fun and quick sew. The finished passport wallet measures 5" X 8" when folded.  On the inside, are pockets that will hold several family members' passports so they can all be together in one place.

These pockets are sewn in a way that was new for me.  I used a faux leather for the outside and quilting cottons for the interior.  The pattern can be done with a variety of closures from velcro, to snaps or the thumb latch that I chose to use.  Check here to see all of the testers' passport wallets.

By the way, these would make nice gifts for your friends that travel. The pattern is designed for confident beginners and it includes tips for sewing with faux leather.  The directions are clear and concise with pictures to help along the way.

You can get the pattern here on Craftsy.  Liz is giving a discount on the pattern if you act fast.  The price is $3.95 until Monday, when it will be $5.95.

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.