Finished Stadium Purse

The Sallie Tomato website has a free pattern, The Ruth. This is a stadium crossbody bag. Simply means if made from clear vinyl it meets the size requirements for most stadiums.

Mine was not made from clear vinyl - I had Steeler vinyl in my collection so I used that for my first attempt. This is not a beginner bag pattern, at least it is not one I would recommend for your first bag sew.

The materials are listed - you need vinyl and either cork of leather for the trims. The bag has zipper installation, hot glue and rivets. Originally I thought I could use Steeler cotton for the trims but then realized the trim edges are not finished. This works fine for cork or vinyl which do not fray, but not so much for cotton.

This is the back side of the bag. Please do not zoom in on the stitching. I do not own a teflon foot for my sewing machine. Sewing vinyl is a little tricky because it tends to want to stick instead of slowly flow under the needle. For parts of the bag I used tissue paper under the vinyl to help it move better. After sewing I just tore away the tissue paper. I also had a heavy duty needle in the machine. Thinking I would need it for the vinyl and faux leather but in hindsight I think a regular medium weight needle would have worked fine.

This is the front view. I did add the optional front pocket. I used what zippers I had on hand. This explains the color difference.

It is serviceable as a purse, but would not consider it my best sew. I did follow along with the video tutorial and that was helpful.

I will probably try it again but maybe all in cork. It is a nice smaller size of purse.