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Saturday, February 23, 2013

PATTERN REVIEW: The Sew Together Bag

I LOVE THIS BAG!

If you were intrigued by my post the other day and thought about purchasing the Sew Together Bag pattern from Sew Demented, go right ahead and do it!  I LOVE the finished product.
I'm not kidding, I really, really LOVE it.  It was just what I needed to gather and organize all the stuff that ends up loose at the bottom of your purse.
 There are 3 zippered interior pockets, and 4 open pockets.  If that isn't enough pockets, you are carrying too much stuff!

MY REVIEW 

Difficulty Level:
Intermediate to Advanced.  You should be comfortable sewing zippers as the instructions are not written for a beginner level sewist.  There are no pictures to help you visualize the steps, although there are a few diagrams which may not be helpful.

What I Loved:
The finished product.  I can't say enough.  Organization heaven!

What I Didn't Love:
I'll be honest, the diagrams (especially for step 6), were confusing to me.  I should have just went with my gut on how to add the side panels, but because of the diagram, I went against my instincts and ended up having to pull out some seams and re-do.  I found this step to be confusing....if you have any experience with bag construction you should be able to get through this fine.  If you are just starting out, and haven't had experience constructing bags, pouches or zippered items, you may want to find another pattern.  This one may prove to be more frustrating than it is worth.

Recommendations:
Again, don't rely on the provided images.  They are not to scale, and are somewhat confusing.  Read and re-read the instructions and stick with the text....it is more useful.  I would also recommend using longer zippers than the pattern calls for.  This will make it much easier to sew, and you simply trim them to size after they are installed.  I used a 22" for the exterior and 3 12" zippers for the interior pockets.  

Overall, I would recommend this pattern for those with some experience sewing and who are comfortable with their skill.  You will need to rely on your instincts for a few parts of this pattern.  

The pattern took me about 2 hours start to finish, and I suppose I could shave 30 minutes off if I made it again now that I know what I'm doing.  
This bag is already stuffed with my purse items and tucked away.  What an awesome find!  


19 comments:

  1. You did a wonderful job with this,found it pinned, but the person hadn't pinned the correct address for the pouch so I have really enjoyed looking through your blog for this particular post.
    I actually love how this looks like it opens right up with that really long outer zipper.
    Found your Review very worth reading, open and honest. Thank you.
    Didn't notice a subscribe via email button, lol, may have had a male looks, but Tahnks again for a fantastic review and LOVE your pouch.
    Cheer, Cindy HAPPY EASTER!!!!

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  2. I found your review when I googled problems with this bag. I'm still stuck on step 6 and I'm searching for pictures. I truly wish Sew Demented would issue an addendum, I'm very frustrated!

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    Replies
    1. Sew Demented is more than willing to help anyone having problems..just ask on Craftsy. Also a quilting site offers step by step pictures to make this poch..the name is on Craftsy as well under comments. Hope this helps!

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    2. Quilt Barn has step by step directions as well for this ..easy to follow!

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  3. It`s absolutely beautiful.Love it!

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  4. Absolument nécessaire pour ranger un grand sac!!!!

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  5. i just discovered the sew together bag on pinterest and when i went to craftsy to purchase the pattern, which i did, your bag stood out as my fav of all of those in the gallery. so excited you reviewed the pattern. thanks for the tips. also, am excited to find your blog! lots of great things on here!

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  6. Thank you! Enjoy making the bag...I still use mine :)

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  7. Vi que tuviste el patron para compartir, pero ya no :( Soy del sur de Chile y he buscado el patron solo lo encuentro de pago.. y aunque quisiera no puedo comprarlo ya que estudio y no tengo ingreso... haber si mirando lo logro hacer.

    Te quedo muy hermoso. Tambien quiero uno :D

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  8. The pattern you link to is a reworded version of the free bag that has been available online since 2010. It originally came from a Japanese craft blogger, was translated to Russian, then this woman picked it up and is selling it for $12. It's not her idea nor her pattern. It's a blatant rip off of the widely available free pattern.

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    Replies
    1. Prove it. Where is it free online?

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    2. I couldn't find it free either so I just looked at the picture and made my own pattern-break it down and it was rather simple to do...I didnt use their directions either- I just looked at it and made it. Then I made several more for gifts. It was actually quite easy to make it only looks difficult.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Quilt Barn Is a great tutorial !!!

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  10. There is a very good tutorial on Youtube this is the first part. Easy to find https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qeRKxmoEI7A

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  11. Great review. Did it actually only take you two hours including cutting out and interfacing too or just stitching it?

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  12. Here is proof that the free pattern is on youtube. the Japanese ladys free pattern site is sewingtimes sew together bag. I am watching it right now on youtube.

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