Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag Review Just Read It

Well, it’s done and I really like this bag. It’s just CUTE! How can you not like a cute bag? I’m expecting my sister Megan to send some fabric my way asking for one of these for herself. But down to business. In this post I’m going to go through my experience making this bag, point out things I really liked, and things I decided to change.

All in all, I give this bag a thumbs up.

Pattern

First of all, I really like the weight of the paper they used for this pattern. It can be used countless times without the annoying rips and tears. Since this is a bag pattern and there is no need for fittings (yay!) I would hope that the paper would be nice. Well, it is.

Materials

The materials to make this bag cost about $43.00. I had to buy the pattern which was $13 so the fabrics and interfacings were about $30. That does not include the magnetic snap that I added which was another $5.00. I need to get all the pattern pieces together and lay them out, but I do feel that they asked you to get way more material than you actually need. I ended up with a lot of waste. If your fabric is $8/yard, having an extra half yard here and there is really wasteful. Like I said, I need to lay out the pieces to be more accurate with that opinion. That being said, is this $48 bag plus time worth the effort? Hmmmm…you could really get something cute from Macys on sale for that money. Just sayin’.

Directions

This pattern has been said that it is a great one for beginners. I agree and disagree. Sometimes I feel that patterns which are catered for beginners spell things out in such an exaggerated way that it’s actually a bit more complicated to follow. I feel that this happened for me in several places. Since I’m not a beginner, I don’t know if the manner of instruction is actually helpful for people just learning how to sew. I liked that they did have some very clear illustrations to show some steps that may cause someone to think twice. Sometimes those drawings are more confusing than anything else. In this case, they were helpful.

Things I Changed In The Pattern

There were several things that I changed in the making of this bag. I probably would have made it as they suggested, but I saw/felt/wore a pre-made bag and thus made some mental changes as I tried it on. I felt that the bottom of the strap was too wide and caused the mouth of the bag to gape open. I narrowed it down 3” total on each side and as you can see in the pictures, it’s still pretty substantial. There also was not a closure for this bag, so I decided to add a magnetic snap. The weight of the bag was a bit heavy and stiff for my taste so I altered the interfacings around a bit. I did interface the lining with the suggested fusible fleece, but I interfaced the outer shell with an extremely light-weight fusible and interfaced the strap and the band with a heavier weight fusible but on one side only. On the lining side I did interface where the magnetic snap went to give it some stability. I also changed the depth of the pockets making them custom for my phone and my GPS. Not huge changes, but enough to make this bag absolutely perfect for me.

Level Of Difficulty

I think that this bag is one that anyone can conquer if you take your time. However, it isn’t one that you can whip up in an hour. The prepping of the bag includes cutting your fabrics, interfacings, and fusing them together; this can take an hour or two. The actual sewing will go a bit quicker, but with the curves and gussets be patient and take your time. I also recommend not getting hung up on edges that don’t perfectly match as you go along. As I was sewing, I ended up truing the edges and seams to make things go together smoothly. I did think that the pattern could have been tightened up a bit. But, just go with the flow even if things aren’t perfect—it is just a bag after all!

Irene of Mushroom Villagers gives a review of this bag on Sew Mama Sew and talks about this very thing:

There’s something funky with the pleated main panel not matching the top band well.  (The main panel is wider than the top band piece.)  Each time it hasn’t matched up well and the pattern instructs you to pivot at the joint, but it looks funny.  I recommend trimming the main panel to fit the top band and sewing a straight seam instead.

At the end of this bag making process when you are attaching your outer shell to the lining, take your time because the bulk could frustrate you as you finish your final top-stitching. I recommend smoothing out the fabric and pinning carefully so that you can be confident as you sew that you won’t be getting any other parts stuck where they shouldn’t be.

Will I Sew This Bag Again?

You know, I probably will. It’s a fun bag, I like the pleating details and the large interior for all my junk. It would be a really great gift to give to someone too. As to the cost of materials and if it’s worth it, well, it is a personal creation and people spend money foolishly on all sorts of stuff. It’s gotta go somewhere, right? And you have a wonderful sense of self-satisfaction that you created something you love and hopefully will use.

Love The Bag But Don’t Want To Make It?

Well, you are in luck because I saw this bag on Etsy and you can buy it. Just type in “Amy Butler Birdie Sling” and a plethora of them will be at your disposal. I’m not sure how that works exactly because on the pattern it states:

This pattern is for personal home use. Projects are not to be produced for commercial purposes, nor are they to be made into items for sale.

Well, happy sewing and happy buying! Buy at your own risk!

Love,