BFF Bag Pattern

Apparel sewing will always be my first love, but every couple of months I get the urge to make a bag. Luckily, the urge struck me just as Loni from Havin Sew Much Fun asked for testers for her first ever pattern, the BFF Bag. 

Full disclosure: as a child of the 90s, I have a hard time accepting that fanny packs are back. But mom jeans are here and I've worn those, so I guess I should get over it. Not gonna lie, it helps to have a fanny pack that is as cute as this one!

The BFF Bag can be worn as a fanny, or crossbody. There are directions for right or left-handed wearing, which is something I've never seen in a bag pattern. I was thoroughly impressed with Loni's directions and illustrations. You never would've guessed it was her first pattern!

This is the tester version of the bag, but nothing changed in the design during testing, the instructions were just updated to be more clear in some areas. The only word of caution I have for you is to test the strap length a bit. You want it to be able to shorten it enough to wear over your hips, but also be long enough to go crossbody.

This is a quick sew requiring only a small amount of fabric. I was super excited that I could use my last precious scraps of pre-quilted Merchant and Mills fabric (used for a Tamarack here) and this fun coneflower cotton poplin print from LA Finch Fabrics. I interfaced the M&M fabric and that worked well. I made the strap from cotton twill. The pink and white striped trim on the outside pocket is vintage, from a garage sale. I used a magnet closure for the exterior pocket. Everything was from my stash except the hardware.

The interior zip that I had was a few inches too short, so I covered the ends with leather scraps. I added a sweary label inside because, if you know Loni, that just fits her vibe. 

I'd never done the seam binding finish on a bag before, but Loni's directions hold your hand and walk you through it just fine. Be patient and sew slowly. You probably will need a machine that can handle heavy fabrics. When going over the binding and the straps it gets pretty bulky.

I love how this bag turned out, and I think I'll be wearing it a lot this spring and summer! Grab your pattern here.

*I received this pattern for free during testing. All opinions are my own.