Cooper Bag by Colette Patterns

I am so behind on all the things I want to post about! I wanted a travel bag and so bought a pattern for the Cooper Bag. After I bought the pattern, I realized that I would never make it unless I scheduled a time. So, I signed up for a class at Gather Here– 3 evenings in May. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and make something completely different and spend time with other makers!

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Here it is, all finished, front and back.

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And the inside-

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And here I am, testing it out on my recent trip to NYC.

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My thoughts on it after my trip. It is a great size for an overnight or weekend bag. I could fit everything I needed into it. It is too big for what I want in an everyday bag though, so that means I need to find something else to cover that. I think I would prefer strap closure to the snaps (or in addition to)- the snaps worked well but if I tried to over-stuff, even a little, I couldn’t secure the bag closed. I wish it had a secure outside pocket for things like tickets. The pockets at the bottom back edge are so public (?)- it felt like anything I put there could so easily be slipped out by someone behind me. I put an umbrella in one and a notebook in another. Those are all minor criticisms though- the bag worked well for my trip and I know I will get a LOT of use out of it!