Customer Reviews for Got Pockets? Purse Sewing Pattern

This pattern is not for the faint of heart. I'm giving it 4 stars, but I think it could be a 5-star project if certain things are changed to make it easier if you know ahead of time how to adjust for them. (Refer to my suggestions later in the review.) While most of the instructions are pretty good, I found a couple to be lacking. I think if those couple of instructions had been written better and with better illustrations, I would not have gotten frustrated at those junctures. At step 4B, it took me an hour (with help from my sister) to figure out how to fashion the bottom of the bag. It was neither described nor illustrated well. It turned out to be much easier than it looked like it was going to be, but the instruction just wasn't clear. There is one instruction (7E) regarding binding the zipper pocket that is wrong (indicating to start the binding on the left side of an assembly piece when the following instructions and accompanying picture clearly showed you had to start on the right). But I worked my way through it and came out with a decent product. I have three suggestions for this project. 1) The project is designed so that there is a seam on one side of the tote but not the other. I didn't like that lack of symmetry so I compensated and sewed two pieces of fabric together to create a piece of fabric the same size as intended in the original pattern but with a seam on both sides. This applies to both the outside of the bag and the lining. 2) This must be a relatively "old" pattern because the cell phone pocket as designed can only accommodate an old flip phone. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that until it was too late for my project and didn't want to rip out what I had already completed. It is possible to adjust the pattern for a modern slim, flat phone if you know ahead of time to do that. The project would be even easier then because the pleating of that pocket would not be necessary. 3) The two interior pocket assemblies did not leave enough room on the sides of the pleats to be wide enough to accommodate the binding that is necessary to complete them, so the binding on my pocket assemblies looks pretty bad if you were to really look at the interior of the bag. My suggestion is to forgo the pleating on both the cell phone pocket and the pen pocket and the binding would not then be an issue. If you want a pleated pen pocket, then adjust the pattern to make the sides of it wider to accommodate the binding.