Pattern Review: L2 Bag

—by Hannah

You’ve heard it said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The same goes for patterns. If there aren’t enough photos on the front or back to really show me what I’m making, I always want to give it a try. Curiosity kills me. The Sewing Workshop’s L2 bag was one of those patterns. The drawing on the front cover doesn’t show all the great details, like reverse pleats and gussets. The pockets inside the bag are a good size and plentiful and you can put even more in if you like.

If I made this again I would make the gussets contrast the main fabric.

 I had never done reverse pleats before so this part was a lot of fun for me.


Plenty of pockets inside!


My favorite part is the magnetic leather tabs. Choosing leather instead of ultra suede (pattern suggests ultra suede) adds an element of quality.

Tips and Suggestions:

  • As always, make sure you read through all of the instructions first. I didn’t and one of my magnets is flipped the other way and isn’t as strong as it should be.
  • As you can see above, the fabric shade key doesn’t make any sense so you’ll have to read between the lines.
  • Use home dec fabric, canvas or another heavy weight woven fabric for the main fabric as well as the lining.
  • The pattern suggests 1 yard of both main fabric and lining. I suggest 1 1/4 so you have ample fabric for pockets. I found myself scrounging for enough.
  • If you plan to use this as a diaper bag I would suggest interfacing the entire bag.
  • I used 1 1/2 yards of webbing for the handles instead of 1 yard and was very happy with the length of the straps. The opening of the bag falls about 6” below my underarm.