​Hi!  I’m Bree from My Crafty Crap over on Instagram and I’m excited to be sharing my thoughts today about On the Go Bags from C&T Publishing.  It was put together by the amazing Lindsay Conner (of Lindsay Sews) and Janelle MacKay (of Emmaline Bags) and includes projects from so many of my favorite designers.  

​I really like that the book includes a variety of projects that are divided by experience level.  I have actually had the book for a while now, and the cover bag is the main reason I picked it up in the first place, but I know I will make some of the other projects in the book as well.  I generally can’t justify buying craft books when I already have so many other patterns, but this is one I couldn’t pass up.  There are projects in all three levels (Easy, Intermediate, and Advanced) that I hope to make.  

I recommend doing a quick search for sew-alongs for book projects if you are intimidated by them.  Often times there will be additional tips and tricks that will help you with the more difficult parts.  I have found that due to limited space in books, instructions are sometimes not as thorough or have as many pictures as I am used to with stand-alone patterns.  That’s not saying craft books are not as good, just something to keep in mind and get use to.  Janelle and Lindsay both have multi-part sew along posts on their blogs for projects in this book (the Airport Sling and Sporty Strap Pack), and I’ve seen others too.  Make sure you check them out!

I was provided with an eBook version of my choice of books for this series, but decided to go with one I had already purchased in book form.  Personally I like to have physical copies of books/patterns rather than working from my phone or a tablet.  I find it much easier to flip through a book than a digital pattern, but I do love having the pdf versions of the pattern pieces.  Sometimes the physical books can be a pain to use though because they don’t lay nicely, and it’s annoying trying to keep your place in the book when you’re trying to figure out what you should be doing next.  To solve this problem, I took my book to a local print shop and had it spiral bound.  What a game changer!  It was relatively cheap (under $4.00) and worth every penny. 

The physical book includes one large pull-out pattern piece that is printed on both sides.  On the one hand, that can be annoying because it means you have to copy the pattern pieces in some way (through a print shop, tracing, etc), but that way you always have another copy in case something happens to the pattern piece you’re using (I saw a woman recently who was looking for replacement pattern pieces from a book because her pattern pieces had been “toddlerized.” I had to laugh because I knew exactly what she meant, but that’s the problem with only getting one copy of pattern pieces in a book).  The really nice thing about the pullout pattern pieces is that they are all one piece – no taping & matching lines!  The eBook version comes with pdf pattern pieces that must be taped together before cutting.  While not difficult, it does take extra time that I would generally much rather spend sewing.  There are also a lot of rotary cut pieces for all the projects.

The book starts out with an introduction by Lindsay and Janelle, followed by general techniques that apply to all/most of the patterns in the book and are just really good general project tips to apply to whatever you might be making.  There are also super handy tips & hints scattered throughout all the patterns in the book.  They are definitely helpful!

As I said, the Sporty Strap Pack on the cover was the reason I bought this book in the first place, so this review was my excuse to let it budge in line a bit & move to the top of my “To Make” list.  This pattern is the last one in the “intermediate” section, and in general isn’t a hard project, but the unique shape and construction do land it firmly in the intermediate section.  I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it came together (or would have, without my usual tendency to modify any pattern I make – more on that in a minute…), and was able to whip it up in less than a week of naptime sewing.  A week might sound like a long time, but when you consider in the time I spend chasing a toddler to keep her from coloring on E-V-E-R-Ything, it wasn’t bad at all. 😉

If you happen to know anything about me, you know two things – I love pockets and for the life of me I can’t follow a pattern as written.  It’s not necessarily that I can’t follow directions, I just always need to change something up, and pretty much always have to add pockets.  

For my bag, I chose to add the zip around pocket from the Airport Sling pattern in the “advanced” section.  This pocket is definitely the reason the Airport Sling is an advanced pattern, but it’s just such an awesome pocket!  It zips around the outside and has a pocket with card slots.  It’s like the Cadillac of pockets.

​The other change I made was to add a pocket to the strap.  This wasn’t something I planned on doing, it was pretty spur of the moment because I happened to have a perfect zipper for it and was feeling reckless, but it might be my favorite part now!  It ended up being not quite as functional as I had hoped after turning out the strap & top stitching (I did skip the second row of top stitching on the lower part of the strap to save as much space as possible), but it’s still perfect for chapstick, keys, or some change.

My only real complaint while working on this bag is that zippers are listed in the materials for what size to buy, but I wish it also gave the total zip length after the tabs are added in the pattern.  This may seem picky, but I don’t buy zippers specifically for certain projects, but just keep them on hand in a couple standard lengths & cut to size for what I need.  One part of the pattern called for a 14″ zipper, and to attach the zipper ends outside the stops.  Generally, when you buy a zipper, the length is the distance between the stops, but when you’re figuring in the size of the stops (which can be slightly different with different brands and styles of zips) that adds a bit of length too.  I know in the grand scheme of things it may not seem to matter, but that 1/4″-1/2″ difference can actually make a big difference when it comes to fitting a zipper around a curved piece. 

For example, I was putting in the zipper for the front pocket & did my best to guess at what my exact zipper length should be.  The first time I tried piecing in the zipper, I ended up with quite a bit extra at the bottom.  

I wasn’t sure if I had guessed wrong on getting my zipper length just right, or if I didn’t get it placed around the curve correctly.  If the total zipper length had been provided, I would have known right away that I just needed to rework the curve around the zipper to get it to fit instead of trying to figure out which of two things was my issue.  In the end I was able to reposition the zipper in the opening & get it to work, but my zipper still ended up wavier than I would have liked and I’m not sure if it’s because I just didn’t get it in there smooth or if it’s actually the incorrect length.  I’m sure I’m the only one who will notice, but it’s still a bit of a frustration. 

In the end, I really love how my bag turned out.  I already used it at the park earlier this week and it was perfect for a few essentials and super comfy when chasing the kids around.

Overall, I definitely recommend On the Go Bags.  I really enjoyed reading through it, working on this bag, and look forward to working on more projects from it.  I think first up will be the Hipster Pocket Scarf!

Thanks for having me, Reece!

Thanks so much Bree! I always love your fabric combos and this one is no exception! I really love your modifications too! 
If you’re just joining us now, make sure to go through the rest of the week’s reviews (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) to get caught up.