Introducing Side Hustle!
After numerous requests for both a sling bag and a fanny pack/waist bag, we decided to “kill two birds with one stone” and designed Side Hustle!
This streamlined bag is perfect for carrying the essentials while keeping your hands free, and it is extremely comfortable to wear. You might even forget you have it on!
Designed to fit close to your body, it offers secure and easy access to essentials, whether you're hiking, shopping, or traveling. Its sleek profile even allows you to wear it under a jacket.
With three zippered compartments, Side Hustle keeps your wallet, phone, passport, and other personal items organized and secure.
Wear it crossbody, on your back, or around your waist for total hands-free convenience. Plus, customize with two strap styles and choose from two sizes — small or standard — to suit your needs.
Our new, metal side-release buckles make it easy to put on and take off, especially when it’s worn as a waist bag.
Since this bag is assembled while it’s flat, construction is extra-easy. It only has a little bit of binding, and it’s hidden inside the bag!
The pattern includes instructions for bags in two sizes:
Small: 7" to 12"H x 2" to 7¼" W
Standard: 7" to 12"H x 2" to 8½"W
Side Hustle is your ideal companion for every adventure! It makes a great gift, too!
Inspiration from our Pattern Testers
Thank you so much to our pattern testers! They work hard to ensure that the pattern is as close to perfect as possible. And, they made some gorgeous bags in the process.
Nyree made her beautiful Side Hustle with Flower Girl by Heather Briggs for Moda. She chose the Standard size and the swivel hook strap option.
We love the happy spring colors and Nyree chose the perfect zipper color to go with the floral fabric.
Side Hustle did a great job of keeping Nyree’s hands free so she could use her trekking poles.
Nyree said, “It easily held a wallet, glasses case, mobile phone, and lip balm, all easily accessible carrying in the front, cross body; so much better than a backpack when you have no spare hands.
It held all I needed for 3 hours at a tourist destination: Questacon Science and Technology Centre in Canberra.”
It looks like Nyree had a wonderful time trying out her new bag all around New South Wales, Australia!
Jennifer (@taughtbymomquilts) enjoyed making her Standard size Side Hustle with Tula Pink’s Nightshade Deja Vu line. We love how well the zippers match this beautiful, slightly spooky floral!
Jennifer said, “I thought this was a good pattern for strong beginners, because the zippers were easy for a new bag maker, they will learn how to do the carrying strap and the zipper pockets, and assembly was very straightforward! I liked the zipper tab technique and the assembly was quick and easy!”
Linda made both sizes of Side Hustle, and especially enjoyed fussy cutting Seth Apter’s Storyboard line for one of her front pockets on the Standard bag.
While it’s fun to showcase a special fabric on the front pockets, it can also be a nice change of pace to use a single fabric for the entire outside of the bag. We love the turtles that she used on the Small bag.
Switch things up to make this bag truly your own!
Kristen (@stitchfabriccompany) found Side Hustle to be fun and easy to make.
We love her fun, contrasting zippers and how she switched things up by using zipper pulls that are a different color than the tape.
To further personalize her bag, Kristen added a lovely flower embellishment on one of her front pockets.
Randi (@randisroost) used Rise and Shine by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society to make this bright and happy Side Hustle.
Randi practiced her free-motion quilting skills by outlining the flowers on one of the front pockets. She also had fun using a mallet to compress the bulky areas around the hardware tabs.
This is now Randi’s favorite bag for everyday use!
Jan made this classy and stylish Side Hustle using fabric designed by Debbie Maddy of Tiori Designs and Thatched by Robin Pickens for Moda.
Jan enjoyed using her new bag on a recent trip and found one of the front pockets to be a convenient and secure place to stash her passport.
Jan made the Standard size of Side Hustle and chose the side release buckle for her closure.
Side Hustle did a great job of keeping Jan’s hands free while she managed the rest of her luggage.
Safe travels with your beautiful bag, Jan!
Kelly made two fabulous Side Hustles using various Tula Pink fabrics and Tula Pink webbing by Renaissance Ribbons.
We spot pieces from Tula’s De La Luna, True Colors, Linework, and Pinkerville lines. Look how well they play together!
Kelly
said, “I made the standard
size and a custom small size, on which I
reduced the width by two inches. 
This is a great pattern and fairly quick to make. I can see it being very popular and also a great way to use up leftover quilted scraps people have.”
Kelly’s
beautiful daughter did an amazing job showing the different ways to wear each
size of Side Hustle.
Cindy made her fun Side Hustle with fabric she had already quilted.
For the front pockets, Cindy added interest by flipping the quilted pieces over so the lining fabric became the main fabric, and she added some Tula Pink fabric for the coordinating pieces. Great work, Cindy!
Mary Anne used Pat Sloan’s new line, Gratitude and Grace, to create both sizes of Side Hustle. We loved working with this lovely line during the recent blog hop, and you can find our post about it on our blog.
As usual, Mary Anne found our ByAnnie Stiletto & Pressing Tool essential for this project, especially when attaching the binding.
Stunning work, as always, Mary Anne!
Learn more about Side Hustle!
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Side Hustle and seeing the work of our awesome pattern testers.
You can find more information on Side Hustle by watching our An Introduction and A Closer Look videos.
As with all our new patterns, we created Add-on Videos to help you succeed in making your own Side Hustle. The videos for this project will walk you through the following steps:
- V.B: Shape the Body Front
- VI.A: Attach Zipper to Body Front and Back
- VIII.A: Join Body Front to Body Back and Bind
For help with the remaining steps, check out our FREE ByAnnie Basics course!
Introducing Side Hustle!