I made Indygo Junction's Manhattan Messenger bag a few weeks ago, and here is the result. I wrote a full review of it over on PatternReview.com, but here's my update after using it a couple of times: I love it...I love all the features and details, I adore the fabrics I used...but there are a few problems. One is that it's just too floppy. It needs something stiffer in there to give it structure. Another is that it's just the wrong size for some of my needs. It's bigger than a purse, but not quite big enough to substitute for a combo purse/work bag. A third thing is that the lovely fabric kinda clashes with anything but the most basic apparel. I'll give you an example of the problems I ran into with this bag:
A couple of weeks ago, I had to go on a special mission for work. There was a high-profile case waaaay out in Brooklyn who needed assessment, and I was chosen to go to a meeting there with several professionals from other agencies. I live in Rockland County, drive down to upper Manhattan most days of the week for work, and on this day decided to take the subway the rest of the way out to Brooklyn. I thought, I need a few larger things (a standard notepad, a magazine to read on the subway), but I don't want to take both my purse and my usual Timbuktu messenger bag on this adventure...so this bag would be perfect! Who knows, I might even get a few compliments!
At first it didn't dawn on me how much it clashed with the skirt I was wearing, a nice patterned number in browns, greens, and yellows. Seemed ok at first, but the longer I sat on the subway staring at the two against each other, the more uncomfortable I became with the combo. I had to change trains, and stuffing my magazine back in the floppy bag became an undertaking. Every time I reached in there for something, I had to carefully prop it open to ensure against collapsing sides.
Finally I arrived at my destination, trying to hold my bag as far away from the clashing skirt as possible. I was thirsty, and concerned that I might have a rumbling stomach by the time the meeting was underway, so I ducked into a deli and grabbed a soda and one of those plastic-wrapped slabs of carrot cake they have at the counter. After purchase, I realized this may have been an error. Between the bottle, the cake, the napkins, and the straw (why did I let the guy hand me a straw?), my bag was overflowing. And not doing such a good job of containing everything, given the lack of structure. I opened the carrot cake and took a couple of bites...another mistake, since now the plastic hardly covered the remaining portion and the oily cake started wandering off into the recesses of the bag, which I sloppily tried to line with paper napkins. I arrived at the meeting sorely aware of the state of things: I clashed, and had a sloppy-looking, lumpy, overflowing bag. Then my boss started paging me on my Blackberry, and I had to reach in and try to discretely find the thing without carrot cake or soda popping out.
All in all, the meeting went fine, and I'm sure no one noticed any of the above (or if they did, they were polite enough not to stare or make faces). But the whole experience left me a bit wary of using the bag again.
As I said before, the bag has some beautiful details and gives a neat opportunity to use a combination of coordinating fabrics. I'm thinking of making it again, a bit smaller (more purse-size), with some seriously stiff interfacing, and with fabrics that not only coordinate with each other, but work with a few of my outfits!
I made this adorable dinosaur from a pattern called "Dippy Dinosaurs" by Pauline McArthur at her Funky Friends Factory shop on Etsy. She's in Australia, and once you purchase her pattern, she sends a PDF file to you. She recommends using fleece, but I used a couple of Kaffe Fasset cotton prints. This guy cracks me up...he looks to me like he's somehow, despite his best efforts, ended up in this wildly-patterned skin, when inside he's shy and reclusive. I think I haven't photographed him on his best side (see, he doesn't even know how to pose for the camera!). He's tilted a little on this side, and stands flat on the other. That's why his eyes look a little off, but they are actually centered, he wants to assure you. The pattern and instructions were great, although she expects that you know some basics. There are three dinosaur variations in the pack, and I may end up having to make another one!
