StudioKat's newest pattern: The Guardian

........the Quilt Diva's thoughts......

 It turned out soooo cute!

The inside- nice and roomy. 

The secret pocket for your ccw or whatever you want to keep safe. Right and left access.

I am thrilled that this product has been marketed by StudioKat Designs and even more thrilled to get to sew it up and maybe teach a class on it someday soon.  I'll give you my review of it in a nutshell. (My changes are  in no way a criticism of the designer or the purse itself. I've only made modifications to fit my personal needs and to fit the supplies I had on hand .)

The pattern directions:

They are lengthy and involved but there is a lot going on with this little gem. The cutting instructions on page one are a huge help. Note that several items are repeated twice (typo) and the  cutting of the Soft and Stable is not addressed in the cutting instruction list.  You are directed to cut the Soft and Stable as you work your way through the directions. The  printed directions and visual tutorials online are quite good.   My advice...take it slow.

Changes I made:
I didn't use Soft and Stable but another product made by Bosal which I cannot remember the name of.  It works beautifully and seems physically identical to Soft and Stable. I'll edit when I think of it.

I love this little pocket area which holds your I.D's and other cards.

I used a regular magnetic snap on the front of the purse only because I literally have about 100 of them  while the sew-in ones were being mailed to me. I could not figure out how to use anything but the sew-in type for the back pocket.

I might try metal zippers next time. While trying to iron all of the layers away from the zipper, my top zipper  melted a bit. UGH!!! My fault!!!

A support for the secret pocket.

The support velcro-ed inside of the pocket.

I found that the interior pocket needed extra support because it simply could not support my ccw (concealed carry weapon).  I made a rigid support out of two pieces of peltex. I have hook tape on one side and loop on the other. It fit into the pocket nicely and helped to hold the holster and ccw  upright. Another adjustment I would make would to raise the height of the velcro on the Core Lining to help with the whole process.

The Holster:

The holster was not big enough for my needs so I cut out another about an inch bigger. Now it's  just right.  The smaller holster (included in the pattern) is on top of my new bigger one.

I reversed the velcro for a right handed draw.

I changed up the holster a bit because I didn't have narrow webbing and I went without the center-release button. I put a small square of hook tape on the holster and added loop tape to piece of coordinating fabric for my closure.  If you need to access your ccw, it seems as though that buckle might be in the way. You decide.

All I need now is the webbing for the strap! It must wait until tomorrow as we are on day 2 of the snowstorm.   

Overall, this is a very good pattern.  I really only modified a minute portion of it for my needs. Any tough spots in general sewing were remedied by the StudioKat online tutorials and a little ingenuity. 
I love that this purse is compact and cute yet has lots of room for all of the stuff I need in my purse and completely conceals what you want to conceal.

Thank you, StudioKat, for addressing a need that has been long neglected!!!

Next up:
I'm teaching a class on the Caddy Paddy!