Smitten by Sirina!

One thing I love about bagmaking is all the lovely and talented bag maker friends that I get to connect with from all over the world! So you can imagine my delight when my friend Melissa of Whistle and Stitch Studio in Australia gifted me a copy of the new Sirina shoulder bag pattern by my other friend Damjana of Apple Green Cottage Patterns in Slovenia! 

Having made Damjana's Kalina Mini Wallet pattern loads of times, I was already familiar with her style of writing, attention to detail and excellent instructions. For my Sirina, I chose this beautiful Florence inspired fabric designed by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics, teamed up with a pewter grey Essex Linen.

I particularly love the angled front pocket, it's the perfect place to feature a favourite fabric and closes securely with a magnetic snap. I'd use this pocket for sunglasses, tissues, hand sanitiser, anything you need to keep within easy reach.

The back of the bag features a full width padded slip pocket, perfect for storing flat items like a notebook, paperback, sun hat or small magazine.

The bottom of the bag is nice and flat with extra sturdy interfacing to stand upright - and Damjana shows you a very neat technique to achieve those perfect corners! 

The top of the bag closes securely with a recessed zipper. Once again, Damjana's detailed instructions meant a perfect result! The stunning circular "Handmade" zip pull and mustard zipper tape are from Country Cow Designs.

Continuing with the Italian inspired fabrics, I chose this "Mosaico Pompei" tile fabric from Katarina Roccella's previous Capri collection for Art Gallery Fabrics. Inside there are a further two smaller slip pockets and a zipped pocket.