Bag of the Month Club -April The Manhattan Bag from Emmaline Bags

I was so pleased to be asked by Janelle of Emmaline Bags to test her Manhattan Bag for the Bag of the month Club. 

Janelle is such a rock-star designer and all round sweetheart, who I had the pleasure of meeting earlier this year at a sewing retreat in New South Wales. There was lots of sewing, learning new skills, met a bunch of awesome girls from all over Australia, including the awesome Christine Welsh  - designer extraordinaire of Chris W Designs. There may have been some drinks or two or three and some late night Singstar shenanigans, but what goes on retreat stays on retreat as they say! 

The Manhattan Bag is a great pattern that comes in two sizes the Mama and the Miss and the Mama also has a cute little sunglasses case stowed away in the clever zipped pocket flap.

Well I can say completely truthfully that I love this pattern so much I have made four versions already! I mostly love that it is handbag sized and shaped and the zipped flap is something that I had always wanted to try.

My first tester was made based on an early version of the test pattern, the released pattern has improvements made to the construction of the front pocket, but I still love this first bag, which I made using pleather, faux fur and duchess satin and I called it the Mama Luxe. Nothing like sewing a test pattern with tricky fabrics to test your sanity in the wee small hours! The result however is a lush looking bag that more than a few people have admired and want to know where I bought it.

My second and third bags were variations of the 

Miss sized pattern option.

I omitted the slip pocket in both as these are destined as gifts for younger children, and I squared the flap off on the bag for my preschool aged boy to give it a more masculine feel. The kids loved their bags. 

I named the squared flap version the Manhattan Master.

My fourth bag was finished today and its the first version I have made with the final pattern. It has turned out perfectly and I love the new front pocket construction.

If you haven't already joined up with all the Bag of the Month fun, its not too late. Check out Sew Sweetness for all the information.

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Bag Stats - Manhattan Mama Luxe
The Manhattan Bag - by Emmaline Bags
Outer Fabric - Pleather from Spotlight 
Flap Fabric - Faux Fur from Spotlight
Inner Fabric - Duchess Satin from Spotlight
Bag Stats - Manhattan Miss
The Manhattan Bag - by Emmaline Bags
Outer Fabric - Denim from Spotlight
Flap Fabric - Hello Kitty Drill from Spotlight
Inner Fabric - Hello Kitty Drill from Spotlight
Bag Stats - Manhattan Master
The Manhattan Bag - by Emmaline Bags
Outer Fabric - Denim from Spotlight
Flap Fabric - TMNT Quilting Cotton from Spotlight
Inner Fabric -TMNT Quilting Cottonl from Spotlight
Bag Stats - Manhattan Mama 
The Manhattan Bag - by Emmaline Bags
Outer Fabric - Tiger on the Bower Echino by Etsuko Furuya for Kokka
Inner Fabric - Brushed Cotton from Spotlight in bag and flap lining