Birdie Sling

I've been wanting to make an Amy Butler Birdie Sling since I first saw one online. Then I saw a girl in another ward at church with one. Since I had met her previously, I didn't feel too awkward walking right up to her to ask, "Is that a Birdie Sling?!" It was. After that I knew I had to have one. Before I get into the nitty gritty for my sewing friends, I'll show you the pictures.

There are 6 pleats below the band and curved gussets at the bottom corners.

The inside has 3 pockets (the big one is divided in half).

The last picture is to give you a frame of reference for how large it is. It is definitely a big bag. But as a mom to a 2-year old, and soon to be mom to a newborn and a 3 year old (crazy!), I need a big bag. Also, please notice that my stomach does not (yet) stick out past the bag :-).

This next part is for anyone who might want to make one. Everyone else can stop reading and I won't feel bad.

This bag isn't hard to make. If you've sewn much of anything before, you'll be fine. The directions are very clear. Except for one thing, there is a picture that is incorrect in my pattern (step 6). Luckily the buttercup bag was similar and I knew the picture was wrong. I double-checked online just to be sure. Amy Butler has pattern corrections on her site. All patterns printed after August 2008 should have the correct drawing, apparently my store bought a lot of patterns prior to that.

There is A LOT of interfacing. I used exactly what was recommended and I like how it turned out. It is a sturdy bag, as you can see by my picture of the inside where it was standing on its own. It takes a long time to cut out all of the pieces of fabric and interfacing and then fuse the interfacing. It's worth it.

This was my first time using fusible fleece. I like the finished bag, but I didn't like working with the fleece. Mine didn't fuse on very well at all. It didn't come with directions so I googled it. I'd still use the fleece again, though, just because I liked it in the end.

You can get away with less than the amount of fabric she tells you to buy, probably a yard for each of the 3 fabrics (instead of 1 1/8 yard). There's a lot of waste. I'm okay with that because I'll use it for something else. Maybe a coordinating buttercup bag ;-). I didn't follow all of the layouts for the fabric to make more usable pieces of leftover material. She tells you to fold the selvage to the center, you do not need to go all the way to the center, just far enough to fit your pattern pieces. I also used the band and handle fabric for the outside of each lining pocket instead of using lining fabric. I had plenty of fabric and wanted some contrast on the inside.

The large lining pocket is definitely large. I would possibly shorten it by an inch or two. When I sewed the curved gussets they ended up catching the bottom corner of the pocket.

When sewing the exterior of the bag to the exterior band I'm pretty sure I followed all of the directions and I still ended up with an inch or so of exterior fabric past the band. It all turned out fine in step 7b, so I think it was meant to be that way. I was a little confused, though. It ends up adding a pleat to each side seam.

I added a magnetic snap at the end of step 6. I centered it and placed it 1 1/8" from the top. Next time I will do 1 1/4". I definitely recommend 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" from the top.

At the end there is a lot of fabric to sew through. My machine did alright, I did have to pull the fabric through at the side seams, but it did the job.

I bought a zipper with the plan to put a zippered pocket on the inside. I will be returning the zipper. I didn't want to deal with attaching the zipper to the lining panel with fusible fleece. It would be bulky and hard to work with. If I end up really wanting a zippered pocket maybe I'll make a zippered pouch to go inside the bag.

I bought my pattern at Pacific Fabrics and Crafts in Bellevue. It's not available at JoAnns. My fabric is from the Alexander Henry line at JoAnns.

Let me know if you make one and be sure to take pictures!