All of us in the tour have been busy working on our secret projects since December last year so it’s wonderful to finally be able see what everyone has been making. If you’re just finding the tour today head over to Alyce Blyth (@blossomheartquilts on IG) to see the first stop of our tour on February 5th and then Cassie (@lilyshinecreates on IG) for yesterday’s makers reveal. Our makers tour ends this Saturday February 10th with @briarhilldesigns themselves and an amazing RJR Instagram giveaway you won’t want to miss!
So what exactly is June’s Cottage I hear you ask? June’s cottage is the beautiful floral brainchild of RJR fabrics latest designer duo Briar Hill.
Briar Hill consist of sisters in law - Julia and Caverly and they are fellow Canadians. I was lucky enough to get talking to them at my Etsy Made in Canada show a couple of years ago when they were just in the process of designing this range so I was super excited when Julia and RJR fabrics got in touch last year to see if I’d be interested in joining their makers tour and sew something with it.
Being a bag maker I of course couldn’t resist making a bag and now also had the perfect excuse to sew up one of the many bag patterns I’ve bought but haven’t got round to making yet. Choosing which bag to make was easy as I decided to keep it Canadian and go for one of the many gorgeous Blue Calla bag patterns I have.. The snapdragon satchel (affiliate link)
Choosing which fabrics to use out of the June’s Cottage range on the other hand was much harder. I love so many of them.. the watercolour “Prized roses” especially. Eventually I managed to whittle down my choices to 4, sent off my fabric requirements email to RJR fabrics and sat back to wait for them to arrive.
I got to work straight away figuring out which cork colour would go best.. in the end I opted to use my navy cork with the Nova Prized roses (blue colourway), the Baby’s breath in Ribbon (deep purple) and Rosebud in Bonnet (light purple). The meadow (green) Prized Roses are gorgeous but unfortunately don’t match any of the cork colours I have.. what a shame (wink) I’ll have to soon go online shopping at my favourite Canadian supplier MM Cork supply for something to mix with those gorgeous purple and greens.
Next decision was the hardware.. I have a thing for gunmetal coloured hardware at the moment but against the delicate florals it was too dark so I opted for my super shiny Emmaline bags nickel coloured hardware instead which was perfect!
The snapdragon satchel has very pretty and unique pleated side panels. I chose the deep purple Baby’s breath print as I felt the small scale of this print would especially suit the little half inch pleats.
Those of you that have made this satchel already may have aligned your pleats the other way up.. I liked the look of them with their open edges facing the bottom so that’s the way I pressed them. The pleats work just as well pressed the other way up though!
So as not to make the exterior too jazzy I chose to use the same baby’s breath print for the bottom flap too. That way I could feature my favourite Prized Roses print in Nova on the top flap and inside the crossbody strap.
Now for the inside... I love using lighter colours for bag interiors as they make it soo much easier to find things when hunting for them in the bottom of your bag. The rosebud in Bonnet is just perfect. The pattern has both a slip pocket and zippered pocket inside but I decided on doing just one divided slip pocket to leave more room in the main compartment.
The bag flaps are both secured with magnetic snaps. I used a slimline one for the lower purple flap and a gorgeously shiny half moon one for the Prized roses flap.. it has a larger plate on the inside of the flap and the glossy half moon piece on the outside.
Choosing which fabrics to use out of the June’s Cottage range on the other hand was much harder. I love so many of them.. the watercolour “Prized roses” especially. Eventually I managed to whittle down my choices to 4, sent off my fabric requirements email to RJR fabrics and sat back to wait for them to arrive.
Just a few weeks later they arrived and as always seems to happen with digital prints versus the real fabrics they were even more beautiful in person.
I got to work straight away figuring out which cork colour would go best.. in the end I opted to use my navy cork with the Nova Prized roses (blue colourway), the Baby’s breath in Ribbon (deep purple) and Rosebud in Bonnet (light purple). The meadow (green) Prized Roses are gorgeous but unfortunately don’t match any of the cork colours I have.. what a shame (wink) I’ll have to soon go online shopping at my favourite Canadian supplier MM Cork supply for something to mix with those gorgeous purple and greens.Next decision was the hardware.. I have a thing for gunmetal coloured hardware at the moment but against the delicate florals it was too dark so I opted for my super shiny Emmaline bags nickel coloured hardware instead which was perfect!
Anyway enough chat about what and where... let’s get into all the fabulous bag features and more photos!
Those of you that have made this satchel already may have aligned your pleats the other way up.. I liked the look of them with their open edges facing the bottom so that’s the way I pressed them. The pleats work just as well pressed the other way up though!So as not to make the exterior too jazzy I chose to use the same baby’s breath print for the bottom flap too. That way I could feature my favourite Prized Roses print in Nova on the top flap and inside the crossbody strap.
But that’s not all... I bet you’ve all been wondering why there are two flaps?! Well it’s because there’s a fabulously handy exterior slip pocket under the purple flap! Deep enough to tuck not only your mobile phone but all sorts of things everyone likes quick access to... maybe your pens/keys/lipstick/tissues!
Lastly all Satchels need a good strap and this one is adjustable.. the pattern clearly shows you how to make it. The only change I made to mine was to do a two tone strap.. cork on the outside and prized roses on the inside.
So there you have it.. my June’s Cottage snapdragon satchel! I think it’s stunning and a fabulously versatile bag.. equally good for everyday use or a night out.
Lastly all Satchels need a good strap and this one is adjustable.. the pattern clearly shows you how to make it. The only change I made to mine was to do a two tone strap.. cork on the outside and prized roses on the inside.
So there you have it.. my June’s Cottage snapdragon satchel! I think it’s stunning and a fabulously versatile bag.. equally good for everyday use or a night out.
This satchel is available to purchase over in my online store! For all the size specifications etc head over to the website and check it out here.
Don’t forget to check out the next stops on IG of our makers tour over the next few days at...
February 8th @aggieandfrancois
February 9th @Katylivings
February 10th @BriarHillDesigns
February 8th @aggieandfrancois
February 9th @Katylivings
February 10th @BriarHillDesigns
.... and come on over to my IG @tangledblossoms on Saturday for all the details on the big $250 RJR sponsored giveaway on Instagram!
