We all know that Christmas will be upon us before we know it, and with it comes the end of Clare’s first year of school.  Didn’t that fly past!  Rather than giving an apple to the teacher as a thank you present, I’ve killed two birds with one stone by testing Nikki’s latest pattern.

This is the Mod Bag, very poorly photographed.  What a great pattern!  It’s not for beginners, because you have to fit curved front and back pattern pieces to a straight gusset piece, but it’s a fantastic bag.

Love those interior pockets!  One side has this zippered pocket, and the other a large overlay pocket.  The outer fabric and the floral interior fabric is from Anna Maria Horner’s Chocolate Lollipop range.  The white fabric with brown spots that I used for the rest of the lining is not half the quality of the other fabric, and I won’t use it again.  It was something cheap from Spotlight ages ago, and clearly contains too much polyester.  Disappointing to spend time and effort creating a bag when the ingredients aren’t all up to scratch.  I’ve become so used to working with quality supplies!  Lesson learned (I hope).

I’ve made this version with a front flap that has a magnetic snap to close the bag, and a decorative ring.  There is one shoulder strap with rings.  Inside the bag is a key leash as well as those pockets.  This pattern has loads of variations and I’m already planning which one(s) to make next.  I hope that Clare’s teacher likes it – she deserves a nice gift; she’s been such a brilliant teacher and Clare adores her.  Clare chose the fabric from my stash especially.

If you’re in Melbourne, Nikki is launching this pattern this Sunday – details are here and there are also some lovely door prizes.