Farrah Tote Bag - The Magic Pattern Book Review & Giveaway

I had a great opportunity to review a new sewing book: The Magic Pattern Book by Amy Barickman. In exchange for my review of the book I received a copy for myself and one for a lucky reader. {Giveaway at the end of the post}

The book includes 6 different variations of 6 patterns creating a total of 36 patterns. It also includes fabric suggestions to give you even more variety.

{image courtesy Workman Publishing Co.}

 The different categories in the book are the Tank Top, The Dress, The Skirt, The Cardigan, The Coat, and The Accessory. Below are the 6 different variations of the Dress. You can see how versatile all the patterns are. My next project out of this book will be The Catherine, which is the second from the right.

I wasn't too excited about posing for a picture if I made clothing for my review, so I chose to make the Farrah Tote Bag. I'm LOVING how it turned out! This is the perfect bag! It's not huge, but it's plenty big to hold anything you might need.

The whole bottom layer is a set of pockets. There's four of them, which is perfect for me - one pocket for each of my kids to keep snacks or small coloring pads for a long day trip. 

I began by printing off the pattern from the cd included in the book. Then taped all of the papers together, which was really easy since it is clearly marked how to put them together. Then I cut out the pattern. The pattern calls for two different fabrics for the bag. I had gotten these fun prints on sale a while back. The problem was I only 1/2 yard of each fabric. So I had to figure out how I which pieces I wanted out of which material. It ended up working out perfectly with only small scraps left over.

Next was the process of sewing it all together. I would guess that this is one of the most complex patterns in the book. {The Catherine shirt, which I'll tackle next only has three pattern pieces and should be a breeze} However the instructions were clear and easy to follow. I only had two problems. The first was not having enough interfacing. I would suggest getting 2 yards. The second was my own fault. As I was sewing the drawstrings, I just couldn't see how they needed to be as long as they were, so I left off a section. Well as it turns out, you're supposed to wrap each drawstring around the whole bag. Mine weren't long enough so I only went from one side to the other. It turned out ok, but they don't draw closed as easily as if I would have followed the instructions.

Another side effect: The drawstrings were too short to go all the way around the bag, but too long to just tie in simple knots like the pattern suggests. So I ended up tying them in bows. I must say I love the look.

I love how you get two different looks with the same bag, depending on if you draw it closed or not.