Rockstar Bag
I really love this bag design! This is the Rockstar Bag designed by Sew Sweetness. I first saw a version of this bag when I joined her Facebook community. Someone had made a gorgeous version of it with this hilarious fabric of comic book sewing women crying. It was genius! And she added a cute tassel made out of small tape measures cut into strips. I bought the pattern the next day. But as I was fairly new to bag making, I was really nervous about making it. I had already had a sewing disaster earlier by making a bag that was way too advanced for me and, sadly, I used this really nice fabric, and I just wanted to throw it out the window.
Also, one of the reasons I love Sew Sweetness patterns is because she has a step-by-step video to go with her patterns. This makes it so much less stressful for me and I feel like she's right there with me, like my own personal sewing coach. But this particular pattern was older and didn't have a video with it. So I set it aside for a while, waiting for her to do a sew along so I could have moral support. Due to the pandemic, that sew along was pushed out several times. Then she announced that she was going to film a video for it so that we could all have the video to support us for the sew along. I was very excited about that!
So after about 1 1/2 years of staring at this pattern and the pretty fabric I had chosen to go with it, I finally got to dig in and make it. And I had learned a lot over those 1 1/2 years so I felt that it wasn't as tricky as I had made it out to be.
This pattern is unusual as it finishes the bag inside with bias tape. The good news is that it is inside the bag and not as visible. The bad news is that it's really difficult to sew on with all the foam making it bulkier. Thanks to making several other projects with bias tape I was pretty comfortable doing this step. Also, the bag has optional piping to add a decorative touch at the sides. I've had issues with piping in the past, mostly that I was using a thicker cording and making my own with fabric to match the bag. I discovered pre-made piping, which is really easy to work with, but it has the stitch marks on it and it comes in one width. Unfortunately, that width is different from what most of the patterns call for. So I need to adjust the placement of the piping in the seam. Also, I bought a set of piping feet for my Juki, but this size piping doesn't work with those feet, so I need to use my zipper foot. It works pretty well but I can see the stitching on the piping and that bothers me. I have since found a good cording with the adhesive built in so I will try using that on the next project.
All in all I am happy with the final product. The flamingoes are super cute and work really well on this design. The gold hardware also really stands out!
The Details:
Pattern: The Rockstar Bag by Sew Sweetness
Zipper: My Handmade Space #5 zippers by the yard in Pale Pink with gold coil
Interfacing: Pellon Peltex, Pellon Flex Foam, Pellon SF101
Finished size: 9.5”w, 10”h, 7”d
Fabrics
Exterior: Pink Flamingo Tonal and Heath in Pink by Alexander Henry
Interior: Teal Stitch and Repeat by Cotton + Steel
Accents: Natural Cork from Sew Sweetness
Wrights Premade Piping: Huntington Fabric US on Etsy
