Nicole Mallalieu Beauty Case

I got this pattern from Homespun magazine ages ago...bought it especially for this bag. He he. Of course, now Nicole has brought it out as part of her range of patterns. Had I know this would happen, I would've held off cos there were a few problems with the magazine version that I'm pretty sure wouldn't be in Nicole's real one.

Vera Bradley make an almost identical bag to this which I wanted but then remembered I had this pattern so decided to make it myself.

I'm really happy with how this has turned out even with all the problems. Luckily they were problems that could be fixed such as one piece being cut too big or not enough bias pieces to bind 2 different seams. Luckily also I had enough fabric to make more bias but of course I could've used something else.

I did change the fabric for the handle due to fabric limitations. It's supposed to be the lime colour rather than the black print. My fabric is, of course, Vera Bradley. And I've got none of this one left. Sniff. It's a really pretty print with the splashes of lime but they are rather few & far between hence this bag doesn't have any on the front. The bottom is a different story.

Rather blurry view of the inside.

Close up of the back hinge and my label.

Close up of the handle & ring.

Closeup of the lid pocket. If I made this again, I wouldn't divide this pocket as it makes them rather small. I'd also consider using a contrast here.

This shot shows how the lid opens.

Closeup on the inside wall pockets.

View of the lid.

Closeup of my fancy zippers. This pattern calls for one zip that goes all the way around. In my best Vera Bradley knock off sewing, I wanted two zipper pulls so used 2 zippers. While a bit tricky, it's worked well. Luckily I've made lots of Nicole's zipper coin purses so knew what to do with the end bits. My zippers are from The Remnant Warehouse and are silver satin with metal teeth and fancy pulls. I love them!