The Gabby Bag features exterior & interior zipper pockets, as well as an interior double slip pocket and has a single shoulder strap. It is a medium size bag with a Finished Size: Width – 12” (31 cm) x Height – 9” (23 cm) x Depth – 3” (8cm) and has some interesting designs that make it fun to sew.
Pattern: The Gabby Bag by Janelle MacKay from Emmaline Bags. Janelle teaches the Craftsy class: Mix & Match Clutch Bag Techniques
Fabric: Quilting cotton and faux leather
Foam Stabilizer: Bosal Sew In Foam Stabilizer
The Gabby Bag was my first Bag of The Month Club 2016 project. In the Bag of The Month Club you buy a bundle of 6 surprise patterns and you’ll receive 6 patterns, one a month from January – June and It’s a surprise what the pattern is before you receive it! The Gaby Bag is the April 2016 pattern.
It is very easy to sew. It has a nice pleated design and a contrasting fabric on the side of the bag and pretty strap anchors. I also like the technique of boxing the corners maintaining topstitching on the exterior.
I combined faux leather with a black and gold quilting cotton fabric. For the black and gold exterior fabric, lining, and pockets, I used a fat quarter bundle that I bought at my local Walmart and I used gold thread for the toptstiching details
You’ll need 3 zippers for this bag (two regular all purpose zippers for the pockets and a purse zipper for the top) and two 1 1/4″ rings (I used rectangular rings, but oval and circular rings also work)
For a nice finishing, I added faux leather binding on the slip pockets.
The bag has the option to add rivets on the strap and strap anchor and it looks very nice, but the rivets that I have are silver and they didn’t match with my fabric.
I’m happy in how it turned out and I would sew it again.
The pattern include illustrated sewing instruction that are easy to follow and also nice bag sewing tips including staystiching the curve at the top of the bag to maintain its shape and prevent it from stretching.
Happy Sewing,
Anabelle
