Sallie Tomato's Mia Bag

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My sewjo is trying to leave me so I am fighting hard to find things that are easy for me to sew.  The Mia crossbody fits the bill.  This bag is so freakin cute and easy to sew.  I consider it a date night purse because you can only put the absolute essentials in it.  The finished size is 9" wide, 6" high, and 2 1/2" deep.

Mia Bag

How I Did It

The fabric is a fairly recent purchase from Hobby Lobby.  I knew at some point it would be used for a bag of some kind.  The cork was purchased about 2 years at a quilt show.  The hardware and pattern was purchased from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

You can only buy this pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Co. - it is an exclusive.   It's exclusive and very popular - I had to wait about a week before it was back in stock.  Missouri Star Quilt Co also carries kits for this pattern and they are also very popular because every one of them is out of stock.

  • Fabric

    • The top of the bag is a beautiful flower print duck cloth purchased from Hobby Lobby.
    • The bottom of the bag is a cork fabric purchase from Sallie Tomato.  The cork is in this family but burgundy.  This cork is more substantial than the cork you find at your local big box fabric/craft store.

  • Modifications

    • I chose to quilt my bag and I am so happy with the result.  I made a diamond pattern with straight lines 1" apart.  I got heavy handed with the chalk pen as I marked the starter lines.  At a distance you can't seem them but up close in the pictures you will easily spot them.

  • Some Construction Pictures





















  • Some Finished Pictures














Conclusion

This bag was such a satisfying sew.  The instructions are amazing and it which made it extremely easy to sew - I truly enjoyed the process.  Using cork help to make it an easy sew, particularly with the strap.  I did use a teflon foot because of the cork.  If you are a visual learner there is a sew along video here.

This was the first time I tried zipper by the yard.  I thought it would be hard but I found it really easy to get the zipper pull on.  The other sweet thing is the zipper teeth are faux metal (they are nylon) which makes them easy to sew though and you never have to worry about your machine needle hitting metal.

What's Next

Hopefully I will bet back to garment sewing.  I have a cut pile waiting to sew, but I suspect I may be on the hunt for a another purse pattern to make a purse that I can carry everyday.

Comments

  1. VselzApril 2, 2024 at 1:06 AM

    I recently purchased the Mia bag and was looking for others who made the bag for any tips they may have had🙂. I'm a begginer when it comes to sewing purses and bags (I've made totes, dog collars, and small other items before) I found your pattern review which led me to your blog. You did a great job on your purse. Having the purse construction laid out step by step in pics was great for me to see it go together visually. Thank you for taking the time to do the review and your blog. Take care.

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