PPC26: Serious Whimsey

So…

in our last post in this series I told you that we were coming to the end of the line for this new pattern, the Bella BiFold, which means it won’t be too long now before before we start talking about “end of the line” type things… like which sample to put on the pattern cover, and when the release day will be! And the truth is, this is the very Iast sample I’ll be showing you before all the “fun stuff” begins! So what are we waiting for, let me give you a quick tour!

I picked up this marvelous fabric at the **International Quilt Festival** in Houston last Fall from **P. Carter Carpin**. I’ll tell you more about Carter and her wonderful fabric at the end of this post, but… in the meantime, isn’t this a totally unique look?

Here’s the Bag Back which features a zippered pocket that’s almost but not quite full-width AND full-bag length! My original intention was to put this cutie-patootie cat on the front of this bag, But had I done that, the Flap would’ve been placed slap dab over this pretty girl’s FACE! Which is what happened when I made up the **Bella BiFold** in “**Feeline Good**” fabric. Don’t get me wrong, I love that sample, but I decided to go with the peacock panel for the bag front this time to avoid breaking up the focal point of the fabric. 🙂

And here’s the “fully-loaded” dropdown area of this design. That’s right, in between these two zippered pouches is a built-in wallet area complete with eight slots for credit or loyalty cards as well as two slip pockets for paper money, a check register, boarding passes and much MORE.

The built-in wallet area is secured by two magnetic snaps ***AND*** a twist-locked Flap for a double layer of security! This is our first foray with a twist lock and yes, I’ve always been a bit leery of a twist lock, BUT…I think we’ve perfected the installation to the point where its really not a scary proposition anymore! As a matter of fact… I really like using twist locks now!

So… one of the things I appreciate the most about Carter is that she is a TOTALLY independent fabric designer… meaning that she doesn’t work for a major fabric house… or even a minor fabric house. She designs her fabrics, gets them manufactured on her own, and then she proceeds to market and sells them totally on her OWN!

It’s not an easy proposition, but she does it so well! If you’d like to check out the fabrics that P. Carter Carpin has to offer, just click HERE to check it all out! You won’t be disappointed!

And now… here’s some vital info you might be interested in!

Bag Dimensions– 9″ wide X 9 1/4″ tall X 3″
Fabric Requirements– 1/2 yard exterior, 1/3 yard contrast, 3/4 yard lining
Projected Release Date– late March 2022.

And since this is the last sample we’ll be showing you in the run-up to the Bella BiFold pattern release, (at the end of this month), that only means one thing!

We’ll need some SERIOUS help picking out which sample to put on the pattern cover!

So… PLEASE put your thinking caps on and stay tuned for the next post in this installment of Purse Pattern Chronicles when you can let us know YOUR preference for the Bella BiFold “cover model”! It’ll be fun, right?!

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