Promises and Expectations

Why can’t I find what I want?! It’s like the Perfect Man; Maybe the Perfect Bag doesn’t exist?

I have heard sewists in the Sew Sweetness FB group talking about the Tower Crossbody Bag since the day the pattern was introduced in 2020. It’s a free bag from Sew Sweetness, so it’s very popular. Who doesn’t like a free pattern?! I’ve wanted to make it, but it never reached the top of my Next Make list. So I decided to make a test bag out of the pattern and, while I was at it, make it out of a fabric I thought my BFF would love. She’s all about purple. In my stash, I found Tula Pink Pinkerville Gate Keeper in Day Dream for the exterior; Moda Fabrics Grunge Basics—I think the color is Freesia—for the lining; and In the Beginning Fabrics Dit Dot Pale Aqua for the exterior pocket lining.

I really thought this was going to be The One, until I got to the zipper. What’s with me and zippers in these test bags? I’m great with zippers. I’ve never had a problem with a zipper, until this round of bags.

But honestly, the issue is not my sewing of the zipper. It’s the method the designer has chosen for the insertion technique for this particular bag.

The #3 (apparel size) zipper on the front exterior pocket was perfect.

The goal of the designer, as I see it, is to insert the zipper in such a manner as will enable the user of the finished bag the greatest access to the contents of the bag. So the zipper is sized and inserted to have the zipper’s opening space be larger than the bag’s opening space. Then the bag can be opened as wide as possible for easy access. That means you’re going to have a zipper tail hanging over the end of the bag. But if you’ve also got an adjustable strap attached to both ends of the bag opening, and the strap is fighting for real estate with the zipper tail, well, you’ve got a problem. You’ve got a fight on your hands.

This is how the top zipper looked when I finished the bag. I had a tail that was several inches long. I tucked it inside the bag between the end of the zipper and the outside of the bag.

And here’s what’s inside the bag, underneath the zipper: the tail. When you want to open the bag as wide as possible, you can pull the zipper tail little further out of the bag and unzip it all the way. Remove what you want from the bag, close the zipper an inch or so, then reach inside and pull the zipper tail back down and close the zipper fully.

I went to Instagram and searched on #towercrossbodybag. Some of the photos show no sign of the zipper tail. Others show a 4″ tail hanging out. That’s not what I want for these bags. So I’m back to trying another bag.

I’ve explained to my BFF the details that I don’t like about this bag. She doesn’t care about my perfectionism. She’s excited to have a new bag in her favorite color. So I’m going to pack it up tomorrow and deliver it to the post office, after I fuse one of my “Jananza!” labels inside.

And next I’m going to dive into the Sew Sweetness Dot Dot Dash bag. With crossed fingers that I can make this The One.