Ellen's Esplanade by ChrisW Designs
/Hello Pattern Revolution readers! It is Crystal here, from Stitched by Crystal, and today I am sharing my latest sewing project with you...Ellen’s Esplanade bag by ChrisW Designs! It has been a while since I sewed a bag for myself (or anything for myself really) so I was excited try out a new to me designer and sew up a great everyday bag!
The description of the Ellen’s Esplanade pattern says it is “the perfect day project” or bag you can “whip up and give as a gift”. And I have to admit I had my suspicions about a bag pattern you can “whip up” as bag patterns can take hours, even days to sew. But it is true! I whipped this bag up in 3.5 hours from print to clipping on my strap in the last step, and that included some seam ripping and re-cutting a couple pieces (measure twice cut once, right?...I will remember that next time!) So this really is a pretty quick sew as far as bags go!
The finished bag is a great size for everyday use as a mom with three kids. It measures about 15” wide, 11.5” tall and 5.5” wide. It has a zippered interior pocket and 2 big exterior side pockets that are big enough to fit my water bottle! The bag is lined and has a beautiful clean finish, the hole to turn the bag gets hidden in the interior pocket seam.
The pattern only has 3 pages of pattern pieces to print and give measurements for all the other rectangular shaped pieces. There is a fourth page to print that has little labels to cut out for all your rectangular pieces, they really help you keep things organized while you are cutting and sewing!
There are fabric requirements included and it states you may need to but more for pattern matching. Make sure you get plenty of fabric, this bag has a seam in the front and the back, I didn’t have quite enough fabric to match the flower on the front of my bag like I would have liked. But that seam could make for some really fun stripe patterns or chevrons if you wanted to get creative with your fabrics!
You do need some bag hardware for this project, but it is all pretty easy to find. I found all the hardware I needed at my local fabric store with the exception of the grommets so I ended up skipping those.
I would say this is an intermediate sewing pattern, mostly because of the zippers. It is a pretty easy sew as far as bags go. I think it would make a great pattern for someone who may have never sewn a bag before and wants to give it a shot! The instructions are clear and easy to follow with clear pictures for each step. And the designer give some great tips along the way!
Make sure you head over to ChrisW Designs to find the Ellen’s Esplanade pattern! She has tons of great patterns, I am eyeing the Brandt’s Boulevard and the Dawn to Dusk. Plus she’s got some great FREE tutorials and tips for making bags, check them out!
Teronia shares her version of the Daryl's Drive purse by ChrisW Designs.