On laundry day, I need to carry my keys, smartphone and laundry coins in addition to my laundry basket. I prefer wearable hands-free options like small cross body bags. My March 1 & 15, 2023 blogs post featured two options for cross body smartphone bags. I’ve kept my eye out for other options and this post will review one from Hold It Right There. This is a Vignette Phone Crossbody review.
The link to the Hold It Right There Vignette Phone Crossbody paid PDF pattern is:
This project is for non-commercial use.
For the purposes of my review, I’m going to summarize the basic steps, tell you what I did differently (if anything) and share my general thoughts about sewing the project.
Introduction
Bags may be a single compartment or have many pockets or sections. Pockets and/or sections help protect the items in the bag from damaging each other and make it easier to find items when they are needed. The Hold It Right There Vignette Phone Crossbody is 6” wide by 8.5” high by 2” deep (15.0 cm wide by 21.6 cm high by 5.1 cm deep) and features one main compartment with a slip pocket, a back slip pocket, a front slip pocket with two card slots and a flap.
Step 0 Gather Materials
The tutorial recommends quilting weight cotton with interfacing, medium stabilizer and ultra firm stabilizer. Waxed canvas, cork, vinyl or leather may be used for some pattern pieces and the interfacing omitted. Either a magnetic snap or heavy duty snap can be used for the closure. 1” (2.54 cm) wide webbing and hardware are used for the crossbody strap. I used quilting weight cotton for fabric I, lightweight home décor fabric with medium weight interfacing for fabric II, faux leather for fabric III, and 1” wide webbing and hardware. Instead of cutting two additional layers of interfacing for my bag lining and slip pocket linings, I used one layer of fusible fleece.
Step 1 Recessed Zipper
I made a recessed zipper panel for my Vignette Phone Crossbody. A great tutorial for doing so can be found on the So-Sew-Easy Youtube channel .
I created fabric stops for both ends of my zipper.
Step 2 Back and Front
I assembled the back and front panels according to the instructions. My faux leather flap didn’t feed easily so I top-stitching through a piece of tissue paper
I wanted each outer slip pocket to have one layer of fusible fleece so I applied fusible fleece to my back slip pocket lining inner layer only. The two card slots are sewn using the slip pocket technique.
Step 3 Outer Slip Pockets
I assembled the outer slip pockets according to the instructions. I applied fusible fleece to my front slip pocket lining outer layer only.
The shape of the bag bottom panel made is easy to box the corners. I hand cranked this step due to the thickness of my faux leather.
Step 4 Bag Lining
I applied fusible fleece to both of my bag lining pieces. Boxing the corners was easy.
Step 5 Final Assembly
I sewed my recessed zipper panel to the inside of my bag lining. I didn’t create my zipper panel with a large enough seam allowance, so I drew a line ¼” (~6 mm) from the top of the bag lining and aligned the outer edges of my zipper panel along it.
The right-side out bag exterior is placed inside the inside-out bag interior and the layers sewn together according to the instructions. Next, I pulled my recessed zipper panel to the outside of my bag and used a ¼” (~6 mm) seam allowance to top-stitch along the top of my bag.
Afterward, I tucked my recessed bag panel down into my bag.
Here are some photos of my finished Vignette Phone Crossbody:
Conclusion
The Hold It Right There Vignette Phone Crossbody is a beginner project. Beginners will appreciate the straight lined pattern pieces, and explicit instructions with numerous photographs. Pattern pieces are included for fusibles to help keep seam bulk at a minimum. Seam allowances are stated for each step. Repetition of the slip pocket technique makes it easy to both master this skill and get good results with the finished bag.
This project was a joy to sew and I love the design. The layering of the panels hides the front and back slip pockets. My finished Vignette Phone Crossbody is the size I expected it to be. It’s more spacious than either my InSewingTimes or ProperFit Clothing smartphone bag and easily holds my smartphone, keys and laundry money. I look forward to using it. Any of these three smartphone bags would make a great gift for yourself or an important person in your life.
Have you tried this project? Did you like this Vignette Phone Crossbody review? Comment below and/or Pin me for later! Subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
Tanya
