Amy Butler's Birdie Sling Bag

A friend of my daughter always comments on the bags I make her. Occasionally, her friends ask if I make things for money. I don't like the idea of that because I like to make what I want, when I want. I did agree to make a bag for Miss Sarah. She gave me free reign. She has a little one so she wanted a fairly good sized bag. She also told me that she likes greens and blues. Ok...armed with that information I decided on the Birdie Sling Bag by Amy Butler. I wanted to use fabric from her new decorator fabric collection, August Fields. I've made a few things using Amy Butler patterns and I'm not always happy with the way things go together. This bag however, was a pleasant surprise. It went together well and there weren't and "challenging" areas. The handle is comprised of two pieces...one for the outer layer and the other for the lining/underside. The outer layer as well as the lining is cut from one piece of fabric. As I was getting ready to sew it together, I realized that the directional fabric I used for the handle was going to throw the handle off. The pattern would be going up one side and then down the other. Yuck. I cut the 2 handle pieces in half right at the shoulder. I then sewed them back together using one half from the outer layer and the lining for each new handle. The outer handle now has the fabric direction going the same way. The lining section is going in the opposite direction. I don't mind that so much because it's the lining and at least it's consistent. I really like the bag and would make it again. The August Fields fabric seems heavier to me than Amy Butler decorator fabric in past collections. I would probably use a regular weight cotton next time.

The bottom of the handle is very wide. It starts in the front, wraps around the side and finishes in the back. If I hadn't rearranged the handles the way I did, you would see the pattern on the left side going in the opposite direction as the right side. This is much better.

There are also 2 very nice pockets...one small and one large.


Hope she likes it!