Pattern Review: Cozy Nest Ellory Bag

So I don't test a lot of bag patterns, though I feel like my bag making skills are slowly improving.

I find that testing for Cozy Nest Designs is a great way to improve those skills.  Her patterns push my comfort zone and show me how to improve my sewing and I totally love that.  So, meet the new Ellory Bag.

First, I want to give a quick shout out to my friend Kim who sent me this fabric that she got at a Quilting Con in Texas.  Isn't it just gorgeous??

Okay, now the bag details:

Finish size: 14w x 10.5h x 4d
Difficulty: Intermediate
Notions Needed: zippers, metal rectangles for handles, and (optional) bag feet

Loot I used bag feet!!

The finished size of this bag is perfect for someone like me whose bag gets taken to the park every day after school.  I can carry my wallet, water, and phone in one side pocket, and then I can fit the kids snacks, a diaper and wipes in the middle, and the always necessary pirate sword and spyglass in the other.

The bag has three pockets.  a big center pocket and two double zipped side pockets, so the bag holds plenty of stuff.

The side pockets use a type of stabilizer that was completely new to me, and is SO COOL.

I'll let you get the pattern to see how cool it is!

And with the lovely finished lining, you can coordinate the inside with multiple fabrics.

What I love:  I love the big pockets and I love how the bag is constructed and stabilized. Plus the instructions were easy to walk through.

What I'd change:  I think for my next one that I will add a nice little zipper pocket to the inside.  The other thing is that I would machine stitch the pocket lining to the outer... man my fingers were killing me after that hand stitching.  (The pattern says to machine stitch, but my arms kept getting in my own way, so I hand stitched).

The bag is so nicely stabilized and it holds it's shape without being weirdly stiff.  It took me a while to make this, though since it is a bag and it was my first time using the pattern, I don't think my time table would be accurate with someone who has a lot of bag making experience.  But, I will definitely be making another one of these, because I absoluley love it and I get tons of compliments on it.

Excuse the slight blurriness of this one.. I was out to lunch with the kids and decided I needed a picture of how the bag sits when you press the top handles together.  The angled shape of the bag makes it the perfect everyday bag in fabric like mine, or you can make it great for nights out with some fancy vinyl fabric (check out the listings for some awesome fabric ideas!).

In case you missed the link at the top the pattern is available in the Cozy Nest Pattern Shop and her Craftsy shop.   While you're in  Craftsy... can I HIGHLY recommend grabbing the Convertible/Reversible Bag!