Review: The Accordi-Anna Wallet

This pattern by U-handbag was the starting point for my Happy Purses. So, I think that makes this an appropriate place to start.

Pattern: The Accordi-Anna Wallet

Designer: U-handbag

Link: https://www.u-handbag.com/products/accordi-anna-wallet-pattern-booklet

I first came across Lisa Lam, designer at u-handbag, at a craft show in Birmingham when I was about 16. She was exhibiting along side Amy Butler fabrics and doing a signing of her book The Bag Making Bible. It was the end of what must have been a very long day for her, she was still enthusiastic and friendly and really excited to talk to another crafter on the hunt for inspiration.

Now that book was pivotal to my sewing career. I had always enjoyed making bags as well as clothes, but up til that point I had thought of myself primarily as a seamstress, which, to my mind, was someone that makes clothes. But this book changed all that. It was chock full of tips and tricks for making your accessories look as good as hers, so that, at the end of the process, I was not left with something that vaguely resembled the picture – I was left with my very own version. It helped me to define the distinction between home made and hand made, and I still refer back to this book whenever I try something new, just in case there’s another pearl of wisdom to be had from it.

So, when I came across this new pattern by Lisa, I was very excited to try it.

In terms of design, Lisa does not disappoint. Her Accordi-Anna wallet looks beautiful, and does “Bring a touch of class to your wallet style purses” just as she describes. And, once again, Lisa’s design is entirely possible to recreate in your own living room.

But this is down to good choice of materials, rather than a particularly good pattern or instructions. The firm Decovil lining gives the purse that crisp shape, and, unless you fold it very firmly, or have somehow got to this point without being able to iron flat, it really is hard not to achieve that beautiful exterior. The same can be said for that clasp – rather than the popular hinged frame, in this wallet, Lisa opts for the flip-lock frame, which gives the purse those sleek, minimalist lines.

Now, I can’t fault her for this. She has designed a purse that it is practically impossible to get wrong – I am fairly certain that you could put any fabrics together and get an outside to be proud of. I’ve put quite a few weird and wonderful things together at this point, and I’ve not managed yet. And after all, this is the bit people see – you will always be able to pull out of your bag something that you can be proud of (so long as you don’t let them look inside). 10/10, well done Lisa.

The inside, however, is a slightly different story.

In terms of design, it does seem to offer everything. It has loads of card slots; so many that even my loyalty card hoarding best friend (who must have almost as many loyalty cards as she does shoes, which is saying something) was able to squeeze them all in, albeit with a bit of doubling up. The coin purse is spacious, and the dividers offer plenty of space for notes to and receipts to sit comfortably and accessibly.

And it is understandable that this is where things can go wrong in construction. There are a lot more pieces in play, here, and she does give you fair warning that this requires an intermediate level of skill to assemble.

While a couple of squiffy or slightly tight card pockets are perhaps not the end of the world for something you made yourself, and lining these up correctly really is a matter of skill and practice, there are several oversights that I just can’t quite reconcile.

What disappointed me about this pattern was not the design, though; it was the quality of the instructions. It didn’t have any of the magic tips characteristic of Lisa’s previous offerings, and it was quite confusing to follow.

The most confusing thing is that instructions are accompanied by pictures illustrating steps completed several pages ago I lived without these at the time, and now that a picture would be really useful, there’s nothing – not even further on. Several times I spent a couple of minutes trying to work out how what I should do before realising that the picture had nothing to do with the instruction.

This wouldn’t be such a problem but for the fact that the instructions often stop short of explaining how to do things.

Overall, the instructions were just a bit too heavy. They could have done with a bit more explanation and illustration of the later steps.

This may be a bit trivial, but the instructions were clearly not designed with the black and white printer in mind. I like to work from a physical copy of my patterns, but I only have a black and white printer. One of the diagrams is colour coded, however in black and white, both collies come out as white. It would t really have been a challenge to select one colour that was darker than the background, and one that was lighter, would it?

Given that my love for Lisa lam has come from her tips and tricks, I was particularly disappointed by this pattern, not really because it was no good at all, but because I have come to expect more from her.