RIP Robo Purse

Well, the Robo Purse had a great four day lifespan before the cr*p plastic handles from Joann broke. No pressure, nothing heavy in the bag, absolutely no reason other than they were poor quality and the silver hardware-thing split, so now I have only one and one half handles on my bag. This simply won't do. My things have been moved back into my trusty Betsy Johnson bag, purchased on eBay last year for just $13 (including shipping, I know, I know, I'm good).
What have I learned - this blog is suppose to be about learning, you know - not to buy cheap plastic handles at Joann. They didn't strike me as amazing anyway, just convenient. My Grandma sent me some links to purse-related websites, my favorite of which being www.tallpoppycraft.com. I only spent a few minuets on the site, but from what I saw they have great prices and a heckuva lot more to offer than Joann's. 
I particularly like these shapely green acrylic handles. I think this was the modern look I was going for with the Robo Purse but didn't quite hit. 

And these heart pine handles are just downright stylish. I'm picturing these with a minimalist bag in a dark graphic print. Dark red and turquoise, maybe?

It's only Wednesday and I have already done some sewing, just waiting on photos. Stay tuned to see my first attempt at cloning and drafting. 

RoboPurse

I cut the bag out on Tuesday, found the lining fabric on Wednesday, and sewed it up this afternoon. This is my third time making McCall's 5599 view C, I don't care for the shape of the other views, and again I'm really pleased with it. This is my new everyday purse. It's not especially "stylish," but more just cute and silly.

I found fabric for the lining from the same line at a different Joann's when I bought the clear handles. The lining is green and has the different robots and their names outlined in white. The fabric was in the children's apparel section and was rather lightweight, so I used a heavy interfacing. The bag is nice and sturdy.

I tried my hand at appliques. I cut out a smiling robot, three twirling gears, and the word "blip" from the leftover lining fabric and fused them to interfacing scraps. I set my machine's stitch length to the smallest setting and slowly zig-zagged around them. I like the turnout, but next time I'll use embroidery thread and hand sew them for a more "completed" finish.
I also didn't bother with the topstiching after sewing the lining to the bag front and pulling the bag through. Instead, I ironed over the edges to separate the lining from the bag front and called it a day. The topstiching would be too noticeable with all of the colors in the bag, and really isn't necessary.