Aeroplane Bag for me

I couldn't be happier with my new bag.  It, the Aeroplane Bag, practically jumped out of the computer screen at me the first time I saw it.  I have long longed to make Amy Butler's Weekender Bag but it scares me, I have seen too many comments about it's tricky bits and am now pretty wary of it. And I don't want to waste a lot of good fabric on making a bag that isn't sewn well but I do hope to make one some time, perhaps when I have more time to ensure I get it right.

Rather ironically my Aeroplane Bag is made with Amy Butler fabric - rescued from a dress I haven't been wearing (wrong fabric for the pattern really - you live and learn).  So it was pretty cheap to make. I made the long size which means I can fit my sewing machine and pretty much everything else (I hope!) that I need to take to the Fat Quarterly Retreat this summer*.  

I've stolen a couple of ideas from Kerry - for simplicity I used webbing for the straps, so much easier and I like the look too.  And I added an outside pocket on both sides.  The pockets are held by the straps and bottom seam.  They are cut from the hem of the dress but since I wanted a deep seam to be sure the pocket was secure I have lost the triangle tip......better that than things falling out the bottom of the pocket because of a dodgy seam I reckon.

This was my first attempt at internal zip pockets and I'm really pleased with the results.  I'm sure much of that is down to a very well written pattern.  
The only parts that went a little wayward are the zip ends on the main zip, which are fine but not perfect - I have used a very thick chunky zip and found it hard to get in close and get the ends tucked away while catching all the layers.  And for some reason my darts along the top don't match up - I didn't spot this until I was sewing the two sides together and, since the excess fabric had been cut away, there was really nothing I could do about it.  It isn't very aesthetically pleasing and really bugs me (see last photo - the bottom left dart is nowhere to be seen coz it's way off to one side).  I must have made a serious error when marking out the dart positioning.

I scrabbled together interfacing and so on mostly from leftovers from other projects but Katy has a good post on sources for the various bits you'll need (unfortunately written after I'd started cutting and sewing, but it might be of use to you if you are thinking of making one). 

 * I have a lovely travel bag which I made when I first started sewing again, around 4 years ago.  My aunt treated me to a day sewing at her local quilt shop/workshop (Borderland Fabrics in Jedburgh) - we had a really fun day and my aunt was such a help and so very encouraging.  She makes the most wonderful quilts - much more traditional and detailed than my usual style - and I guess that day really fired up my interest in learning more.  Anyhow, the bag I made then is very well used and loved but won't be big enough for this summer's trip to London.......not many bags take a sewing machine easily!