Convertible Reversible Bag Pattern by Cozy Nest Design

I am a fan of versatility in my clothing patterns - but I never really thought that could be applied to bag patterns until now.... now, I have see the reality that is the Convertible Reversible Bag Pattern by Cozy Nest Design.

Here is Sarah to show off hers, how it works, and how crazy cool this pattern is...

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Hello everyone!  This is Sarah, and I am back today with a review of the Cozy Nest Design Convertible Reversible Bag Pattern.

This is a really cool concept for a bag; it is 4 bags in 1, plus it can be made out of two separate color schemes so you get the most bang for your buck!

So this is how it works (because I was really curious about that part when I saw this pattern).  You have a cute little shoulder bag...

You pull out its insides...

Stand them up straight...

And then you have a cute cross-body bag.   

Pretty cool, huh?  So now that you are intrigued, let's talk about the pattern.  

1. This is an intermediate or advance pattern.  The sewing skills are nothing fancy, but it does require a lot of cutting, interfacing and methodical following of the steps.  Plus three zippers (yes, THREE).

2.  The pattern is extremely well written and easy to follow.  Plus, there are these little labels that are included to mark each of your pieces as you cut them.  At first I was kind of thinking I'd just skip that.  Then I realized how many pieces there were to cut and decided the labels were a brilliant idea.  

3.  The pattern goes together remarkably well.  The pieces fit together beautifully, and I am not always the most careful about a little thing called seam allowances... I figured there was a good chance it could all go horribly wrong when I went to actually assemble all of my pieces into a final bag.  It didn't though, they fit together with no problems at all.  I was kind of amazed by that!

4.  The pattern took an evening to cut out, a second evening to interface and about 5 hours for me to sew it together (with a few distracting children thrown into the mix there). 

5.  This pattern uses a lot of hardware; 4 swivel clips, 6 D-rings, 3 zippers, a magnetic closure and 2 strap sliders along with the fabric and interfacings.  I used pieces of fabric from my stash and bought my hardware from my local JoAnn store.  It is not a fabric hog and it was kind of nice to use a few fabrics that I really like but didn't have enough to make garments out of.  

6. I think if I did it over again, I would have just made a black strap for both bags since I have black in both of my fabrics.  However, the way this is constructed and having two separate straps does allow for completely different color schemes between your bags.  

So what about the second set of bags you ask? Well, once you turn your cross body bag completely inside out, you have another cross-body bag...

Then you tuck the top of the bag inside, fold over the flap, and you have a little clutch bag.  

All in all, I thought this was a pretty genius design for a bag.  The construction of the bag is such that it fits together seamlessly and from the outside, you would never know there is a whole second bag in there! If you are looking for a versatile pattern that does a lot for you, you will not go wrong on this one. 

Happy sewing until next time...

Sarah