Mustang Sidekick tote

If you were to ask my husband, he would be the first to tell you that I need a new bag like a need a hole in my head.  But what does he know about purses and bags anyways, because it's true, I really did need a new every day bag.  I had been on the look out for a purse/bag small enough that I could use it for every day things that a gal needs a purse for, but big enough that I could stash an extra diaper, travel wipes and spare binky for emergencies (you know, the important "keep baby from fussing" things) when Nora and I were out on a quick errand.  While I love my diaper bag, its a giant pain in the patoot to lug around.



Enter the Sidekick Tote.  I'm a big fan of Anna's patterns, the directions are easy to follow along, include lots of pictures and often include techniques that make me go "why didn't I think of that??".  I've made her Divided Basket and it gets used daily as it holds diapers and baby essentials that we use constantly.



My absolute favorite part of this bag is the pocket.  Yes I love it because it is HUGE, easily accessible and super functional for things that would get lost in the bottom of my bag, like my keys, but can we talk for a minute about the fabric??  Yes that is definitely what makes the pocket my favorite thing about this bag.

I sort of missed out on all the buzz back at fall Quilt Market when Cotton + Steel was revealed, you know with having a baby and all at the same time.  And not to trudge off topic here, but can we talk about how I missed out on fall Quilt Market in my hometown of Pittsburgh last fall??  Oh that Nora, its a good thing shes so darn cute :-)  I suppose I'll have to catch it on the next visit to the Burgh.



Now that Cotton + Steel is available for purchase, I immediately ordered a fat quarter bundle of Melody Miller's Mustang line.  Once it arrived and I was finished petting all that beautiful fabric, I decided the only way to make my Sidekick Tote even better, would be to use a few prints as accent fabrics.  I didn't even realize that alot of the Cotton + Steel prints had fun metallic accents, but that is by far my favorite part.  I used the Mint Sparkle Flower border print on the top flap and the Coral Arrows as the main pocket fabric, and made sure to get lots of that metallic goodness in each print.  (Bag main print is Essex yarn dyed linen in black).



Aside from the awesome pocket, my second favorite part of this bag is the recessed zipper.  I had never made a bag with a recessed zipper and I'm 100% a fan.  I used more of that Mint Sparkle Flower print, and just used the "sparkle" part of the yardage for a fun recessed zipper surprise.  I think the only thing I would do differently next time would add a little interfacing to that inner top band fabric for added reinforcement.



The inside is extra roomy and perfect for daily essentials plus "extras" when necessary.  I made the pocket larger than Anna called for and added a zipper pocket on the other side of the lining.  If you can't tell, I like pockets.



Another new to me feature of this bag is the adjustable strap.  I've always skipped this step on previous bags and just done a straight forward strap, but I'm definitely happy I took the extra time, as it makes it easy for use as an over the shoulder bag, or cross body, which I'm becoming a fan of because it leaves more hands for carrying baby, and all her associated "things."  Secondly I think it really adds that "this is not homemade" stamp onto the bag.



If its not evident by my gushing, I'm a huge fan of this bag, and plan on using it religiously as my go to daily bag.  Not to mention I get to look at that pretty sparkly fabric every day, which is a total plus!

Speaking of that awesome Melody Miller Mustang fabric, stop back tomorrow where I will have a fat quarter bundle of Mustang to give away to one lucky reader, sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop!