Pink Sand Beach Catalina Sling Bags

Hi Friends!! For the past 2 days, I worked on these 3 bags using Pink Sand Beach pattern "Catalina Sling". There are 3 ways to sew this bag with 3 different flaps. I decided to work on one style of body and 2 different flaps. I'd like to try the two other styles the next time I sew this bag.

The other style is sewing wedges to give it a "quilted" appearance and the other is to use only one fabric design on the outside of the bag. Because this was the first time for me to use this pattern, I wanted to "perfect" one style first before moving on to another style.

I still need to add buttons to the flaps of the bags. . .I didn't have any cute buttons that I wanted to use so I'm going to need to go shopping for buttons soon.


In most part, I did follow the instructions as written . . .it asked that fleece and Decobond are used for the interfacing but I didn't have a "sew in" fleece. . . instead I used a "fusible" fleece and "Craft Fuse". I do have Decobond but I wanted to see if the Craft Fuse with the fusible fleece would work out okay. Well, it did but not really. The fusible fleece by Pellon was a bit thin so when I applied the Craft Bond, it just made the fabric a bit stiff rather than soft with some body.

With the blue dot bag, I didn't use fleece because it was a home decor fabric and I felt just using the Craft Fuse was sufficient and it was. It held up the body very well. I used one style of flap which is a little longer and narrower than the other two flap patterns provided. I also didn't add fleece to the lining which was called for in the instructions and it worked out okay without it.

The picture above shows how the bag hangs like it would if it was on your shoulder.

There was one modification that I did do with the pattern. The pattern asked for a 1/4" seam and I did not like such a small seam because on one of the bags below, I noticed I had a little gap because the seam was so narrow that while sewing the bag together, I may not have lined the edges completely even and it may have slipped a little so when cutting the fabric I added a 1/2" seam to the bag instead to prevent this problem from occurring again.

I just realized I made a little mistake on the blue dot bag. . .I had sewn the top stitch at 5/8" rather than 3/8" . . .as you can see with the bag below, the top stitch is smaller. It's okay, it's just a different look but I think I prefer the 3/8" topstitch.


Because I didn't have a "sew in" fleece availabe, I didn't like the thinness of the "fusible" fleece, I decided to add a quilt batting to this bag and layered it with the Craft Fuse. It worked out nicely and kept the fabric soft but still had some body. The next time I sew this bag, I will definitely try a sew in fleece instead and see if it works out better but the batting worked out really nicely so I may still continue to use the batting for future bags. I'll compare the two and use the one that is best. I read that a stabilizer may be a good option as well.

This one has a wider flap which I prefer more than the longer narrower flap. There's also a flap with a scallop design which honestly, I liked least of the 3 flaps.

The bag has one large pocket that is divided in the center. I forgot to take a picture of it. The bag closes with a magnetic closure.
The bag is a nice shoulder bag size and has a nice depth to it too as you can see in the photo. The bag measures 11" wide x 8 1/2" tall and 3 1/2" deep. It's quite roomy but the bag isn't too large.

I do recommend this pattern and I really like the bag. I'm going to try the "quilted" style next time. I really like the look of it. I just don't like cutting fabric. . LOL! and the quilted style requires more cutting and more sewing. . .but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm working on a new bag . . .but I think I'll work on cards or paper crafting today. I'll take a day off from sewing. The design of the next bag is so darn cute. I can't wait to finish it up and share it with you all!

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!