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Accordion Bag

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I’m really excited to introduce my 2nd bag pattern, the Accordion Bag! This pattern is available in my pattern shopThis confident beginner-friendly bag features a pleated flap with magnetic snap closure. It is a soft, structured purse that has plenty of room for all the essentials! You can use fabric scraps to make the flap patchwork like I did, or a flap made out of the same fabric would be great too!

bag2 The pdf pattern includes 10 pages of sewing instructions, complete with 22 step-by-step color photos. Finished Size: 11” long x 7-1/2” tall

Supplies Needed to Make this Bag:

  •  1/2 yard for the exterior
  •  11 scraps, each 3” x 9”, for the flap (if you would prefer a flap that is all in one fabric, you will need a piece 27” x 9”)
  •  9” x 9” square of fabric for the piping on the flap
  •  1/2 yard for the lining
  •  1-1/2 yards Pellon® SF101 Shape-Flex® fusible woven interfacing
  •  1/2 yard of By Annie’s Soft and Stable™, available at local quilt shops or on-line (Soft and Stable is a thin, foam sew-in interfacing; one of my testers also recommends automotive headliner fabric in place of the Soft and Stable Helpful Hint: Pellon #987F Thermolam Fusible Interfacing(a needled fusible fleece) may also be used as a substitution for the Soft and Stable.

I made two versions of this bag…the first was made using Michael Miller Mirror Ball Dot fabrics (which are metallic!), and the second version I made using ‘Asbury’ by Thomas Knauer for Andover Fabrics. Thomas is an extremely talented fabric designer, and he is also a wonderful speaker about all things design (he taught a class at Sewing Summit, and is also lecturing at QuiltCon). These beautiful fabrics just hit stores, and feature amusement park nostalgia…for the flap, I used his Jellybeans, which are available throughout several of his lines and are a perfect blender fabric! I just adore this bag!

And I could not have finished out the pattern with the help of my lovely testers! Thank you ladies so much for giving your time and brain thought to assembling the bags and giving me your feedback! Here are the bags from my testers:

Mary of Mary on Lake Pulaski made this jaw-dropping version of the bag…I just love the rainbow Pezzy pleats. Mary said that she used invisible thread to topstitch the pleats down (the pattern calls for two rows of topstitching) so that the thread would not distract from the pleats. Wise choice Mary!!
This bag was made by Vexa from Halabala Style, who used this beautiful pindot for the main portion of the bag. I think the blues are lovely with the gray, and the piping on the flap turned out perfectly! If you’ll notice, Vexa substituted an adjustable strap, which makes this a great cross-body bag too! You can read Vexa’s post about her bag here!
Nancy made this colorful flap the centerpiece of her bag (however, awesome text fabric for the body!). She actually made 2 bags (same fabrics…one version with the pleats and one version without the pleats) I just love this one, it’s so beautiful!
Laura from Quokka Quilts made this awesome texty print bag (and I like the tiny little splash of color on the flag in front!). I’m really into text fabrics lately, and Laura made some fantastic choices with her fabrics! This bag looks amazing!
Brenda made this gorgeous version as her ‘crochet purse’…for keeping all of her supplies in one place! What a great idea, and the trim on the flap is beautiful! So creative!
Bernie made this lovely citron version with a gray body. Bernie suggests using starch instead of pins while working on the pleats. She also had an easy time sewing the exterior together using her walking foot!
Margaret made this beautiful candy-colored bag with a bright orange floral body. It’s the perfect bag for spring (and right about now I’m wishing for it!). I love the flap, the pleats on her bag look so nice and crisp!
Liz from Moments… made this beautiful version in yellow. She used sew-in Thermolam for her bag and she said it worked great in holding the shape of the bag. You’ll also notice that she used one fabric for her flap…it looks fantastic!
Mary made this bag, and I just wanted to show you a close-up of the flap, because the fabrics that she used were painted and sun printed by Mary herself! Wow!!
Elizabeth made this bag with some great fall colors in her flap. She is an adventurous beginner and turned in an amazing bag!!
Wendy from The Crafter’s Apprentice made this bright bag, and you know how I love a good polka dot…in fact, I think I made a bag in that particular polka dot before (you know I’m crazy when I can pick out a particular polka dot). I think it really compliments the brights in the flap!
Debbie made this evening-ready bag using black twill for the body and silk scraps for the flap. She said the silk was challenging to pleat, but wanted to prove that it could be done!
Thank you again so much to the testers for all their hard work! If you like what you saw, you can purchase this pattern right now in my pattern shop!!

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20 thoughts on “Accordion Bag

  1. nissaMade says:

    Another great bag! Funnily enough I am working on bag with a similiar shape flep! Again love seeing the different versions from your testers also introduces me to some new blogs..

  2. I adore your version Sara!!!

  3. luckylucille says:

    Oh my gosh SO CUTE!!! I love the potential for all the color. (That ice cream fabric is awesome!!) Such a great shape, too! I’m adding this to my wish list 😉

  4. CJ Latour says:

    Oh wow! Just wow! All the bags are amazing looking and it’s so nice to see different versions so that way you know it would look good with all the same, flap being one color/print and the body of the bag being another color or print.

    Just curious if the bag has pockets on the inside?

  5. CJ Latour says:

    Nevermind, lol I think I answered my own question when you didn’t have that in the description. 🙂 Then again, you could always add pockets if you want too! 🙂

  6. Maria says:

    Everyone has done an amazing job and I love the design of your bag Sara.

  7. vexa says:

    Pretty cool versions!

  8. What an incredible line up of all the different versions! Great bag Sara!

  9. Beth says:

    I have to try this bag, like now. (Well after I get paid hehe). It is a great size. The details, like the shape of the flap is perfect. And the many colors on the flap adds more fun.
    Thanks for the pictures of all the other bags. It really demonstrates how versatile the pattern it.
    Two thumbs up.

  10. Katy Cameron says:

    This looks great, love it in the mirror balls :o)

  11. Sarah says:

    This one is fabulous! The possibilities are endless with that pieced flap!

  12. I love the pattern, your versions of the bag, and all the other versions! Keep making patterns and sending tester emails; someday I won’t have too much schoolwork and I’ll make up one of your bags. For real, I love them all.

  13. BeeSewSweet says:

    Gorgeous, gorgeous bag! It’s really fun to see what the pattern testers used as well. Thanks for sharing their photos.

  14. Claire Jain says:

    I love those Mirror Ball prints 🙂 What a cute bag!

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  16. Sue Snodgrass says:

    Why don’t you show the inside?

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