The Birdie Sling visits Boston Public Gardens

I’m starting to notice a theme in my travel photos. It goes a little something like this:

Anne in Chicago with a Birdie Sling over her shoulder.

Anne in Madison with a Birdie Sling over her shoulder.

Anne in Boston with a Birdie Sling over her shoulder.

Anne in Minneapolis with a Birdie Sling over her shoulder…

You get the idea.

It’s not that I’m trying to rack up the mileage on my Birdie Sling, or show off my mad sewing skillz everywhere I go. It’s just that I’m learning that there’s a reason this bag is so popular: it’s the perfect travel bag.

It’s the shoulder strap that really won me over. It’s curved just so, and sits just right on my shoulder. It never digs into my shoulder, slips down my arm or needs readjusting.

The size is just right for travel, too. It’s big enough to hold everything: a light jacket, an SLR camera, a water bottle, books, and small purchases from fun shops, but small enough that no one ever makes me check my bag when I walk into one of those shops that won’t let you bring in anything other than a purse.

The bag takes some time to cut and sew, but the directions are easy to follow. Though there’s a correction to the pattern here. I’ve made this bag three times (once for myself, twice to give as a gift), and had to re-do this part at least once after getting confused with my non-corrected pattern at home. Indie House has a nice photo tutorial here.

By my third bag, I started making some minor modifications to the pattern. The pockets in my first bag are huge and always gape wide open, so in the last bag I made, I added a magnetic snap to one pocket and sewed cell phone- and pencil-sized compartments on the other. No photos of those features, though, since that bag was finished last-minute and rushed out the door to its birthday girl recipient with time only for a rather hasty picture on the back door. Maybe if I ask nicely via the internets she’ll pose with it for a picture that’s nicer than this one.