PPC30: A Tale of TWO Gorillas!

So…

in my last post I showed you the “Gorilla Sample” for what will hopefully be our next new pattern. And therefore, when I was cutting out the pieces for this sample, I had every intention of making it the 1st true sample of this new design. Sure, I was making some pretty big changes but I was certain that these would all be positive and permanent changes going forward!

But here’s the deal…

I couldn’t have been more WRONG!

First off… I decided to not use the Zipper Extenders this time. My thinking was that the Flap would open wider without them, making it easier to place items inside the Pouch, but this wasn’t the case at ALL. As a matter of fact, it actually seemed like the zipper ends being sewn into the Bag sides seemed to have the OPPOSITE effect…PLUS, now the Flap seemed to prefer lying flat against the Bag Back rather than flying straight out to act like a “lid” on top of the Pouch.

On a good note though… I’m really happy with how the lower edge of the Pouch area looks now. Instead of being relatively flat and straight across the bottom edge, I added some puffiness which allows for more functional storage all the way to the bottom edge of the Pouch.

{Above left:} the Pouch area is wide open in the shot to show how roomy it is. Unfortunately, it also shows how the zipper in the side edges of the bag is somewhat restricting the opening.
{Above right:} the Zippered Bag Back opening is on display here. It’s a deeper area but not as wide. It’s perfect for a passport, phone or other thin items.

In the pictures above you can see that this little bag is best carried as either a cross-body sling-type bag (above left) or as a shoulder bag (above right). Of course one could wear it as a traditional hip-type bag, but in this case I would recommend switching to a wider webbing (without the D-rings) for the sake of comfort. 🙂

And now a quick word about the fabric we used for this sample…

I dug deep into my stash for the fabric for this sample since I had a sneaking suspicion that there could still be some lingering problems with this design.

I opted instead for using a fabric I’ve considered using many times in the past, knowing full-well that that this bag could end up being mine in the end. 🙂

And now, it’s YOUR turn!

I’d love to know what you think of this design thus far. Does this bag seem like one you might enjoy carrying? And if you have comments you’d like to share, suggestions you’d like to make, or questions you’d like to ask about this design in general or this sample in specific, please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.

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