Franken-plector

by Linda Theil

"Franken-plector" back slip-pocket in Tuscan scene fabric

When I decided to make a new Spencer-Ogg "Amplector" cross body bag, I intended to use the Tuscan-scene fabric from the "Bella Toscana" collection by Whistler Studios for Windham Fabrics as the featured slip-pocket on the front of the bag.

For the lining, I chose a floral from the same collection from a fat-quarter bundle I purchased in 2019. For accents I found a brick-red solid in a box of "Ten Vintage Crayola Colors" in a box of fat quarters by Riley Blake Designs. I intended to use a tan webbing I had on hand for the long strap, and a bright orange #5 zip from YKK. But by the time the bag was birthed, it bore no resemblance to my original plan; instead, a Frankenstein's monster emerged.

The trouble began when I decided to add a credit-card holder to the inside pocket of the bag. Since the "Amplector" doesn't have a credit-card holder, I sought advice from the 20,000 Oggettes at Diane Spencer-Ogg's Bag Sewing Group on Facebook. At their suggestion I adapted the credit-card holder pattern piece from the Spencer-Ogg "Curvalicious Zip Wallet".

By adding 2.5-inches to the width of the adopted pattern piece, I was able to make a credit-card holder to add to pattern piece E: upper-back lining of the large-sized "Amplector" I was working on.

I used the "Bella Toscana" Olives-Sole print for the card-holder and the Tuscan scene multi-color for the lining of the bag back -- "Amplector" pattern-piece E.

I chose the Olives-Olive print for the back-lining-bottom pattern piece which forms the interior pocket of the "Amplector".

I also decided to add a full-sized slip-pocket -- not featured in the original design -- to the back of the bag. Of course, I had to use the Tuscan scene for that!

These additions ate up a lot of the fabric I had originally chosen, so I had to augment my materials with additional choices from the "Bella Toscana" fat-quarter bundle. The large pieces needed for both additions left me choosing bag parts based on what fabric the pattern piece would fit.

I decided to piece a self-strap from yet another Toscana fat-quarter -- this time, Olives-Tomato. The front-slip pocket is made from Olives-Sole leftovers from the credit-card holder inside. The zipper-pull is a piece of one-inch-wide, orange grosgrain ribbon from a bottle of Pyrat rum.