Introducing… DATE NIGHT!

It’s finally here!! And when I say finally, I don’t just mean the last 8 weeks that I’ve been prototyping and writing and taking 3000 photos.

I’ve been attempting this top zipper technique for years. I knew *how* to do it, in theory, that was the easy part. Finding the best way to explain it, as well as getting the pattern pieces just right, finding the right interfacing, determining the order to assemble everything… that was the challenge. But, it was time to figure it out for real. And preferably in a way that stopped Bob from continuing to point out that the base looked like a maxi pad without wings.

I went through quite the pile of fail. I was almost ready to give up, but I made one more, and it worked.

FINALLY! It worked!

So, why Date Night? See, I’m a big purse girl. Someone emailed me last week and asked how to make the Two Zip Hipster smaller because it was too big for an everyday purse. I replied with some suggestions, but I really wanted to write, “Are you crazy? It’s tiny.” Because doesn’t everyone need a water bottle and a clipboard with a to-do list and a pattern to edit and their laptop and tissues and disinfecting wipes and giant sunglasses and a stack of business cards and extra socks, a spare pair of undies, and a hoodie…?? Apparently some of you only need your wallet, phone, and keys. Crazy people.

Anyway, since I carry a ginormous bag (a 105% Daytripper, usually), there were so many times while Bob was here that we just ran out for food and I wished I had a smaller bag. I have a small purse that I usually take when I go out with my friends, but Bob makes a fuss about me using purses I didn’t make. He even sold half of my VB’s in my garage sale!

Taco night. Guess which one is mine. :)

When I mentioned working on this one, my mom friends chimed in and said they needed a small purse for the times when they didn’t have the kids and the accompanying diaper bag. I specifically wanted a bag that didn’t have a lot of outside pockets, with a secure top zip so that I could set it in the booth next to me at a restaurant, or hang it on the back of my chair, or even hold with my knee under the table. I wanted it to fit on my shoulder AND be able to hold it in one hand without touching the ground. It couldn’t be too big, but it couldn’t be too small because I’m me. (And I’ll make a special occasion bag later. :P) So when I say Date Night, I don’t mean your fanciest dress and heels. I mean a movie date. I mean girl’s night. I mean dinner. I mean your favorite jeans and your favorite tee and your favorite guy and NOT your giant everything bag.

I really had to dial in the design of the top curve and strap part. It had to be *perfect*. This is a simple bag, but you do need to be very accurate with cutting and sewing for it to work. It’s quick to cut and it’s easy to sew. There aren’t many pieces. There’s a little bit of hand stitching (worth it!) and then the trick with the strap at the end, which I’ve been told is “mind blowing.” :) As my cousin Sarah put it, my bags aren’t designed, they are engineered. I guess that’s true? I made the base the exact size as the main body, factoring in the seam allowances and all of those curves. I used tangents to figure out the strap part. I’m pretty sure a friend of mine who works at my old high school tagged my math teachers in my post on Facebook about math being awesome… which I wrote at 3am after a couple glasses of wine, while explaining that they taught me well enough to be able to do that kind of math at 3am with wine. Classy. But you won’t notice that technical stuff, because it just works. :) And yes, that lining is COMPLETELY finished. No raw edges. No binding. You won’t believe how until you see it.

It holds just enough. Definitely phone + keys + wallet with lots of room left. Maybe a tiny water bottle. A small camera. Some touchup makeup. A mini hairbrush. Your sunglasses. Tissues or wipes or hand sanitizer but probably not all three. Definitely keep the spare undies. :P The point is that it’s not agonizing trying to decide what you absolutely can’t leave behind, but you’re not taking carry-on luggage to dinner.

Now, A LOT of you are going to be able to use this for your every day purse. I’ve forced myself to use it for a whole month, and I survived. (I also barely left the house, because pattern.) I always like to use my prototypes for a while to make sure they are the right size and functional and all that. I don’t, however, think that anyone will consider this bag to be too big. Even if you don’t fill it, I think you’ll still find it to be a petite size. I considered making it smaller, but then the outside pocket wouldn’t fit the bigger phones. (IF you have that Galaxy monstrosity, I can’t help you. No one can.) But honestly, I just absolutely love the size, and I’m thrilled that this purse is the one that finally I nailed the zipper technique with, because it wouldn’t be as awesome with any other style of zip.

So that’s it! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Get it while it’s on sale!

P.S. Outdoor and coffee pics are by my awesome cousin Sarah Kleiser. Massive thanks to her for help with a last minute photo shoot! And to my awesome pattern testers, YOU ROCK! I couldn’t do it without you (or there would be no Step 2!) Thank you!

P.P.S. YOU SHOULD BE SEWING!! <– T-SHIRTS ARE 15% OFF JULY 4th WEEKEND!

-Erin

Comments

Jessy Minney says:

July 4, 2014 at 11:51 PM

So excited! I’m flying home on Sunday (which happens to be my birthday) with a whole stack of fun new fabrics I’ve bought while visiting family, and I can’t wait to sit down and sew one of these. I’ve already got my fabrics picked out. What a great birthday present (for me)–new fabric, fabulous new pattern, is there anything more fun?

Shelley S. Fields says:

July 5, 2014 at 1:53 AM

I purchased the pattern!!! Yippee!!! I’m excited to get to work on this. I’ve waited for this to become available…LOLOL Okay, now I can sleep!

Thank You Erin!

Shelley

mary says:

July 5, 2014 at 2:53 AM

Great to read about the process behind the bag! I often leave the house with just my keys on a wrist strap – so liberating!

Donna Baker says:

July 5, 2014 at 8:00 AM

This is great, Erin! The photos your cousin took are just perfect too. Can you tell me just how deep and wide the outside pocket is? I have one of those big phones (for free!) So I try not to balk about it ha. Thanks!

- Erin Erickson says:
  
  July 6, 2014 at 5:19 PM
  
  Sorry so many emails this weekend I can’t keep up! It’s 4.5″ tall at the lowest part of the curve, 6″ wide at the opening and 7″ wide at the base. :) I googled the Galaxy S3 and S4 and it looks like they are about 5.5″x3″ so they should fit. But not the newest one that’s the size of a mini iPad. :P
  
Brooke says:

July 5, 2014 at 10:11 AM

I need to send you a photo of how I pack my smaller purse! It has gotten harder and harder to find purses that aren’t luggage or tiny wallets every time I’m forced to go purse shopping. I carry my purse until it falls apart and I hate switching purses.

I’m a medium sized purse kind of girl and this purse looks almost exactly like the size I carry. (For the record, I carry a secondary non-zippered bag to work with all my snacks etc along with my purse.) I’m so excited because I’ve never wanted to engineer my own pattern! I was thinking about shrinking the Daytripper down to a closer everyday size, but now I don’t have to. =)

Thank you so much, Erin!

Now, I’m off to buy the pattern…

Kelli M. says:

July 5, 2014 at 11:16 AM

OMG! I won the pattern! Thank you, Erin, so much! I feel like I won the lottery! Can’t wait to get sewing! xoxoxox

Michelle says:

July 5, 2014 at 8:47 PM

Got it! Can’t wait to make it…………….hopefully this week sometime:)

Thanks for all your hard work, Erin!

Michelle says:

July 5, 2014 at 9:07 PM

By the way, where do you get the Soft and Stable? When I looked at JoAnn’s this past weekend I didn’t see any. Do you have to order it? This was a smaller JoAnn’s so maybe that’s why. Just wondering. I know I’ll want to make this soon!

- Erin Erickson says:
  
  July 5, 2014 at 9:52 PM
  
  You won’t find S&S at JoAnn. I actually really loved the Bosal In-R-Form, here, from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/In-R-Form-Unique-Foam-Stabilizer-18-White/dp/B00AVYDPTS
  
  You can probably find S&S at your local quilt shop. :)
  
  - JulieCC says:
    
    July 6, 2014 at 9:52 AM
    
    My Joann’s doesn’t have it, nor Hobby Lobby. Three of my LQSs carry it.
    
    I purchase my S&S from Amazon.
    
Michelle says:

July 6, 2014 at 8:08 AM

Great, thanks! I’ll order some now:)

Stephanie says:

July 6, 2014 at 4:52 PM

Love this bag..it is going to be my next make.

Had a giggle on the way to work (on a Sydney train no less) about the couple of glasses of wine at 3am!

And I have the galaxy monstrosity.. So hopefully the bag will take this..

Keep up the awesome work.

Michelle says:

July 9, 2014 at 2:21 PM

My Bosal In-R-Form hasn’t been shipped yet, and I’m itching to make my purse! I was lucky enough to find a quilt shop not too far away and got the Soft and Stable for now:) While I was there a woman commented on my Daytripper and wanted to know where I got the pattern so I referred her to your site, Erin! She said she loves purses and bags so I know she’ll love your site. Yay!

Melanie says:

July 15, 2014 at 10:42 PM

You’re right, there is no help for some poor souls out there. “IF you have that Galaxy monstrosity, I can’t help you. No one can.”

Judy W says:

July 27, 2014 at 7:59 AM

I just finished the Date Night purse and I love it! Your instructions are fantastic! I had to re-read the zipper part a few times but it worked out perfectly and my finished purse is adorable. I need to make another one soon! Judy