Poor Nikki has been desperately trying to get this bag pattern released before Christmas, and has just been waiting on final feedback from her testers – um, one of them is me.  But yes, now it’s done!  I have made my Carry-all Bag and within about two hours of completion I was carrying it around.

This bag can hold a huge amount of stuff – which is great for me, because my minimum amount of stuff is glasses case (with my prescription sunglasses, Clare’s sunglasses and Stella’s sunglasses), mobile phone, filofax, purse, cosmetic pouch (with panadol, bandaids, nail file etc – no actual cosmetics in it!) and generally also nappies, wipes, bib, facecloth, water bottle, snacks … you get the general idea?  Anyway, back to the bag …

The fabric was gifted from the generous and talented Kirsty at Brown Owls a month or two ago.  Speaking of Brown Owls, they’re featured in the latest issue of Frankie!  Congratulations Pip on a great interview. 

The bag closes with a zippered gusset.   The flap is just for looks, because with the zippered gusset I didn’t need it to be functional as a closure. It is piped and has a decorative O-ring attached. 

My version of the bag has two handles, attached with O-rings.  There is a pocket on the back which has a sew-in magnet to keep it closed.  Luckily for me the fabric came complete with top-stitching, and I made it a feature along the top of the exterior pocket and the gusset.

Inside the bag are a zippered pocket and a compartment pocket.  The insides of bags are really hard to photograph!  I included a key leash as well, sewn into the side seam between the facing and the lining.  I figure that with a bag this size I need to maximise my ability to find my keys!

All the supplies (interfacings, fusible wadding, O-rings, zipper pull, magnetic catch, etc) are all from Nicole Mallalieu Design.  This pattern has loads of variations.  It’s not for beginners, as you need to be confident sewing curved pieces to straight pieces, but is incredibly versatile and as always Nikki explains the bag construction in fantastic detail.  You can finally tick this one off your list now Nikki!