Vera wristlet hack

I will admit that I think the Vera Bradley bags are pretty, but I will also admit that there is no way I will spend good money on one when I can make lovely fabric bags myself. I am currently carrying a purse that gets mistaken for a Vera bag often.

Recently, I had seen these VB wristlets in the stores and decided they would be handy for when I just want to carry a few things (and esp. if I didn't have pockets).

This is the Carry-It-All wristlet from Vera Bradley. If I didn't sew, I would almost certainly buy one, but I do sew...so Vera isn't getting my $42.

Enter Butterick 5728, a Waverly design with several options of small bags. View F is pretty darn close to this one.

I made my version with a pretty cotton print - not quilted, but interfaced with fusible fleece and lined with a coordinating blue stripe. I added the piping, contrast zipper, and embroidered monogram to personalize it more.
There is a cell phone pocket on the back and it is well-sized. I just got a Samsung Galaxy S3 (which I love!). It's a pretty big phone - 4.5 in. screen - and it fits in this nicely.

You could easily add more pockets to this, but I stuck with just one because I do not want to use it as a wallet beyond holding my license and debit card if I was traveling very light.
I got the cute cover for my phone off of eBay - cheaper than at the mall and way cuter! I love Marie from the Aristocats. ;-)

Just to give you another size comparison, here is my phone beside the wristlet. While my phone is very slim, this little bag can hold quite a bit if you need it to. For now I am using it to hold cell phone accessories (extra charger & spare batteries, but it would be easily pressed into service as a simple bag for an outing when I didn't want to carry much.