Purse -- Simplicity 2205

If you look closely on the right in the picture above, you will see a vertical metal bar.  That is a crutch belonging to my daughter, whose right leg is in a purple cast for a few weeks.  She broke her ankle at the end of May playing soccer.

That translates into boredom for her and also a problem of how to transport all her stuff around while on crutches.  So she decided to make a new purse.   We have been stocking up during the recent pattern sales at Joann's, and Simplicity 2205 was one of our finds.

She chose some fabric (quilting weight cotton, also from Joann's) and whipped up this cute purse -- the one with the adjustable strap in the bottom right of the pattern cover -- this week.  She had to sew it on my Singer 401 because it has a knee lever.  Her little Kenmore only has a foot pedal and that was not doable with the big cast.

The only change she made to the pattern was to extend the strap by ten inches because she wanted it long enough to go across her body.

The pattern was very clear except it doesn't tell you specifically what kind of interfacing to use.  She used Shape-Flex for the pockets and the lining, fusible fleece for the outside, and a fusible mid weight for the straps and flap.  If she makes this purse again, she will use a stiff interfacing for the flap to help keep its shape.  (BTW, Sara at Sewsweetness has a very helpful post here about bag interfacing.)

Here's a peek inside at her red polka dot lining:

The purse itself is a great size -- not too big, not too little.  We couldn't find any dimensions listed on the pattern, but it is roughly 12 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches deep at the bottom, and it is 11 inches tall.  There are two flat pockets inside.  The pleats add a nice detail, as does the band and flap at the top.  In fact, it would be really cute made up with a contrasting band, flap and straps.  The only extra hardware she needed was a magnetic clasp and a rectangular slider for the strap, which we also purchased at Joann's.

Simplicity 2205 also comes with a cute clutch pattern.  It just seems inconvenient to have to hold on to your purse with your hand all the time versus just slinging it over your shoulder, so I'm not sure if we'll ever make it.  However, I can see us making future versions of this pleated bag.  We really like how it looks and how it functions.

Thank goodness my daughter gets her cast off soon.  She's moved from wanting to sew something to wanting to build some furniture for her room :O