Bags, Uncategorized

Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review : Studio Kat Tandem Tote

 This post is part of Purse Palooza 2013.  
For full schedule of guest post pattern reviews and prizes, click here!

This post is from Anna of Charmed Liebling. Anna is also a gifted bag pattern designer, and her newest pattern, The California Sunshine Bag, has just been released! Hop over and check it out!

charmed Liebling's Tandem Tote

Hi, my name is Anna and I blog and sell bag sewing patterns over at charmed Liebling! I am thrilled to be part of this year’s Purse Palooza and would like to thank Sara for asking me to be one of the guest bloggers.

Tandem Tote pattern

About the pattern:
I picked a pattern by StudioKat Designs, the Tandem Tote. I immediately liked the looks of it, it seemed like a fun little bag to make which is ideal if you don’t want to carry too much around with you. As it says on the pattern cover it is a perfect travel bag, not only lightweight but you could even carry it under your clothing. I am a fan of small bags anyway and this one measures 7″ x 7″ x 2 ¾”. This makes it roomy enough to take along when exploring the city, to carry your phone, wallet, camera and keys.

Tandem Tote interior

There are options for making a longer strap to wear the bag cross-body or a shorter one if you prefer to carry it on one shoulder. I decided to go for the shorter version but more about the strap later.

Fabrics and notions:
My exterior fabric is “Blossom Reel Plaid Orange” by DS Quilt Collection. All the bags on the Tandem Tote pattern are made with fabrics that have a directional print so I decided to go with this as well, since it emphasizes the unique design of the bag.
Apart from fabric, fusible interfacing and fusible fleece you will also need two zippers, webbing and two d-rings. As an option you can add two decorative buttons to the top front of your bag, like I did.

Tandem Tote button

Pattern pieces:
The pattern comes with several pattern pieces, which are printed on large format paper. There are on-the-fold pieces as well as full pieces. Pieces for interfacing and fusible fleece come extra which is very helpful as they are already cut smaller to prevent bulk later.

Instructions:
The pattern comes with five pages of instructions, which are very clear and detailed. When Kathy from StudioKat Designs generously offered me her pattern she mentioned that her later patterns all feature color photographs. This is one of her older ones (from 2006) and only has illustrations but I have to say they are very helpful! The only thing that could be a problem for some people may be the size of them, they are very small so if your eyesight isn’t the best I think it could get a little difficult to see the details. Each illustration not only shows you how to assemble the different fabric pieces but they also come with helpful side notes on measurements, exact placements etc. So all in all I did not miss any photographs!

Anna and Tandem Tote

Interfacing:
Also helpful were the tips on interfacing and fusible fleece. Before you start cutting these pieces the instructions mention to “test” if you need fusible fleece first or if you can go with interfacing instead. I used mid-weight cotton fabric so I decided to go with a sturdier kind of interfacing, Decovil. This brand is not widely available in the US but there are online shops that let you order it overseas. I just love the fact that it makes your bag so much sturdier and professional looking.

There are two other minor changes I made: The pattern calls for ½” wide webbing for strap and d-ring holders. I decided to go with ribbon for the d-ring holders instead. I also made a strap from my lining cotton fabric by folding a bias strip. The instructions offer two sizes for the strap – approx. 55″ or 45″ long – but I made mine even a little shorter than that (39″).

Tandem Tote ribbon

There are two zippers to be inserted into this bag: one as a top closure of the main compartment and one for the front pouch. I actually enjoy attaching zippers to bags even though you have to be very exact at this step and I was able to tackle this task pretty well with the Tandem Tote.
There was one minor thing that I thought was a little tricky. You will at one point be sewing through lots of layers of fabric and interfacing. I was extra careful to align all the layers with lots of pins, to make sure my end result looks neat.

Tandem Tote pouch zipper

My conclusion:
This is a really fun pattern and perfect for someone like me, who just loves a small bag! The fact that it is small however requires some basic sewing skills since there is quite some detail work involved (I mentioned the zippers already which require a bit of courage) but that is the only reason I would not recommend it for a beginner. An intermediate to advanced sewer will enjoy assembling this bag, I am pretty sure!

Tandem Tote

Happy sewing everyone and thanks for having me Sara 🙂

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15 thoughts on “Purse Palooza :: Pattern Review : Studio Kat Tandem Tote

  1. Laurel says:

    wow – that is such an interesting bag! that curved zipper… looks tricky, but do-able!

  2. Jane Ritz says:

    I love that pattern. Where can I get it?

  3. BJM says:

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  4. BJM says:

    I will consider trying that bag. Before your review, it looked too intimidating.

  5. cara says:

    I love this bag! The fabrics are great too – what fun!

  6. Beth says:

    Cute bag. Sometimes a great small bag is what you need. With my neck problems it is probably what I need every day. This review makes it look doable.

  7. Norma's Clay says:

    Very nice and interesting shape for a bag. Anna did a great jod handling the fabric to look awesome.

  8. Vera says:

    Looks pretty practical but I’m not so keen on the shape. I like your fabric choice though.

  9. I have this pattern and now I think I will attempt to make it! Surely, I must have some fabric around. I just received a black and white strips which would be awesome with red zippers!

  10. bluebear says:

    Thanks for your review. I think I may have to gain some more experience and confidence before tackling this one. It’s cute though!

  11. Katy Cameron says:

    Interesting shape for a bag, love the fabric choice :o)

  12. Maria says:

    Love this bag. I haven’t seen anything like it before.

  13. I love the fabrics you used ! The bag looks really cool!

  14. Danih03 says:

    I haen’t seen that pattern before. It’s very cute!I love how the outer pocket looks like you can reach right in and get whatever you need!

  15. Jake says:

    Oh I really love this by! I’m a small bag girl too and this is a great size, not a lot of fuss and muss with millions of pockets. And I adore your orange fabric! Thank you so much for sharing on this purse palooza that Sara has generously put together. It is so helpful to read about other peoples experience assembling bags.

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