Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Monaco Bag ( giveaway too )



For those of you who have been around awhile, you know that when I started in the handmade business I made tote bags and small purses. So you can imagine my excitement when Hawthorne Threads asked me to put together one of the new Art Gallery purse kits to see how I liked it.

This kit was beautifully packaged in it's own little tote, with ribbons, and instantly made me drool at the site of it. Everything I needed (minus the interfacing) was in the package ready for me to start working.
This was not only a time saver, but a money saver as well. There was no driving all around town looking for the specific items that the pattern requested.


The bag I assembled was the Monaco Bag in option kandesh. I loved the colors and the style, not to mention to be completely honest it looked hard to make, and I wanted a challenge.

Now I do not consider myself to be a novice bag maker by any means, in fact I believe amateur is the right word for my bag making skills. I can whip up a tote or something simple with a pattern, but when to much hardware is involved I cringe  a little.


After reading the directions 4 or 5 times, I began cutting into my beautiful included fabrics. The pattern book gave a step by step guide to each and every detail of the bag with diagrams included. Each piece wa individually assembled and put aside for bag completion and everything was clearly labeled and named to find my way around the pattern easily.

 I will be completely honest by letting you know that this bag took me awhileto make with other distractions going on around the house, and I would recommend that you go through the pattern once with fabric that you are ok living without (minus the hardware) I say this because I didn't do that! Now that I have made the bag, I love it but there are a few things I would have tackled a little differently to make the process a little smoother.

For instance:: when it says use a heavy interfacing, don't pick a medium weight cause you already have it close by. :)



The pattern though is very forgiving, and there is more then enough fabric to finish the project and have quite a bit left over, maybe even enough to do a second bag. The pattern also give you details on how to cut your pattern pieces so that you have very little waste.

The completion of the bag was like my own little victory. What seemed to be quite the challenge when I saw it at first glance, turned out to be just the thing I needed. I love switching up my projects and this one did not let me down at all.


For you sewers out there who are like me, worried about failure, turning away from what looks like a difficult project to avoid the stress. :) (yeah I do that ) Try one of these Art Gallery premade kits. You will be amazed how super easy it is, and it will give you the courage to try other projects that you may have put off before. Even if your not into bags, or not a sewer, but know someone who is. This kit is the perfect gift. I am so glad that this was easy and that the end result was perfection. Now I have a new courage in my sewing adventures, as well as a new trendy bag!

Here are some more photos of the finished bag (since I know you all love pictures)  :) Enjoy!

See GIVEAWAY details below......







Now you want to make one huh! Try it, you will love it. Not to mention there are so many styles of bags, that one is bound to fit your very own personality. Hawthorne Threads will even make the idea of making this bag just a little sweeter by giving away a kit to Three Lucky sewers.


So what bag do you want to make?

Thank you Art Gallery, and thank you Hawthorne Threads.
I would love to see photos of your Art Gallery kit bags!

18 comments:

  1. I so enjoyed your process...and love the bag. What an honor...

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  2. What a nice bag! And you made it very lovely.
    Thank you for sharing your sewing projects.

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  3. what a nice bag.thank you for sharing,Amy

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  4. Beautiful! I love the vintage brooch on the front too.

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  5. Cute bag! I love buying kits. Makes everything so much easier!

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  6. Very nice bag~ my DD would love it too! I would choose the Firenze bag. I love a challenge! :-)

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  7. Thank you everyone, it was super fun to make.

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  8. Thanks for your honest review, I really appreciate that! I think I'd like to try the Firenze kit - I see there is piping involved in the kit supplies and I haven't done covered piping in years, so that would be my challenge!

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  9. your pic's for this bag are lush love the fabric you choose x

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  10. Nice bag girl! :) I got an email from Hawthorne too and of course said yes right away, but freaked out once I saw what they wanted me to make. I immediately emaild Charlie back and politely withdrew as I have no experience making bags. PS: Don't tell my wife I turned down a FREE bag kit! LOL

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  11. I love the purse you put together. My teen daughter is obsessed with purses. This is a fantastic idea, all in one kit. I know she would love the design you made. Personally I liked the Essential Kit. I love bags that are one large pocket:):) I did not know about these thanks so much for sharing!


    Ann Flowers
    flowerscrazyq@gmail.com

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  12. Love that bag! Looks like a great kit. Thanks for sharing with us.

    Hugs XX
    Barbara
    Moore Whimsies

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  13. Your purse looks amazing! Thanks for a great review.

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  14. I have always wanted to try making one, but was afraid to mess it all up since I don´t have much experience in sewing. now that I know that the instructions included are easy to follow and that there is enough fabric to make two bags, in case I make mistakes ... I'm willing to accept the challenge. I wonder if I can do it? let's find out!!!!

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  15. Beautiful bag - love that fabric! See, you're already up to crafty new projects in your new digs.

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  16. Oh I love it so much, got to have it hope I win it.

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