Keyka Lou City Tote

In March, I won two Keyka Lou patterns from a giveaway on Craft Girls Workshop’s blog.  I have mentioned Anna’s shop before because I purchased the material for Lillian’s birthday skirt from her.   Anna sells fabric, patterns, books, kits, magazines, and notions, as well as offers classes at her San Antonio shop.  She also recently started FFF (Fabulous Friday Fabric) in which you sign up for the FFF newsletter and every Friday you will receive an email showing you which fabric is only $5 for that day.

I was able to choose my own patterns and chose the City Tote and the Messenger Bag. The City Tote seemed like it would be easier to make so I started with that one. The pattern was fantastic…very thorough and easy to follow.  The only issue I had was knowing when to sew in the optional invisible lining.  But that is probably because I am not that familiar with sew-in interfacing.

Speaking of interfacing…I used SF-101 Shape-Flex Woven Fusible on all pieces even if the pattern didn’t call for it, and then used sew-in fleece for the invisible lining.  Overall, I feel as if these are good choices to make the bag seem pliable yet sturdy.  I didn’t want a stiff bag but wanted it to feel like more than just two pieces of cotton.

The pattern has you mark the center of each main piece of fabric.  At first I was trying to measure where the center was and then realized that the pattern was half of the piece so I could just use that to find the center!  That way there was no measuring at all.

Here is the pocket (pushed toward the top) and the top and bottom piece of my lining.  Essentially, the pocket is sewn in the middle but not sewn shut and when the top piece is brought up you have a pocket.  It’s like magic!

Sewing darts….this was the first time I have ever sewn darts.  I had to actually look online to see exactly how to do it!  Can you say beginner? Anyway, to sew darts all that you do is line up the two edges of  your dart and sew together.  Then you iron them in one direction and you are done.  Darts are pretty much boxed corners for curved fabric…at least in the case of a bag.

See how it’s sort of like a boxed corner?

Finally, a picture of the outside pocket.  The pattern has you put a button and loop on it but I did not have a button that was big enough or matched.  Since I really wanted to finish the bag I opted to make it without.  I figured I could always add a button (without loop) later if I really wanted to.  I do like the look of the bag with a button so I will definitely add one to my next City Tote even if it’s just for looks and not for functionality.

Overall, I am in love with this bag.  It’s the perfect size for me and I LOVE the fabric (purchased from Joann’s).  It took me what seemed like forever to cut out the pieces but once I started sewing it didn’t take all that long to make.

I highly suggest checking out Keyka Lou patterns and if you like something, order it, and get to sewing!  (I am an affiliate of Keyka Lou Patterns, so I do get compensation if you purchase an item by clicking on a link from my site.)

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