So here we go:
First I find inspiration, this is normally done for me by going on to Flickr and streaming through the numerous handbag groups I am a member of. There is an infanite source of inspiration on Flickr, you just have to go out and look for it. I also like looking and seeing what people are selling on Etsy, I am bummed that you can no longer look at which items have been looked at the most, this always gave me idea at least which items where grabbing peoples attention. So I found this image on Flickr a few days ago:
I loved the shape of the purse but the selling point for me was that the handle came up from the body of the purse with no seam line, something I hadnt done before but this bag gave me the drive to try.
So I went about drafting a pattern (sorry no pictures of this) I basically drafted the pattern using concepts I have learned from doing tutorials online and purse patterns that I have bought. If anyone is interested I will show you the silly way I draft my patterns, trust me it isnt very technical in ANY way.
I created two prototypes from this first pattern. I didnt take a photo of the first because it was a disaster, the bag shape was fine, it was the sewing that left me stumped, I searched online everywhere to try and find a tutorial for what I was trying to accomplish to no sucess. For some reason I was having a hard time wrapping around how I was suppose to turn out the bag. So I took out my hand dandy Japanesse craft books. I have a large collection of these thanks to trips I have taken to see Ken's family (San Diego & Hawaii) so I knew there had to be SOMETHING in there that could help me out and lucky for me there was. So prototype 2 was born (prototype #1 had been seam ripped so many times it was a lost cause to finish, poor prototype).
The bag turned out alright, but on a person it was way to skinny in the body. So I went back to the draft board (read my living room floor) and got to work drawing a new pattern. Make the body taller and a little less wide. Which led me to prototype 3 (drum roll please)
Ta-Da! It is a medium/large bag with the shape that I wanted. Plus thanks to the trials I have got a new skill done. Now I just need to crank out 20 or so of these bags in various vintage fabrics. (wish me luck!)
No post of course around here couldnt be without Leila so she volunteered to model while sharing in my joys of sucess.
And what better way to celebrate then an inpromptu picnic on the bedroom floor.
Happy Tuesday everyone, hopefully you made it to the end of this LONG post!!!
So I went about drafting a pattern (sorry no pictures of this) I basically drafted the pattern using concepts I have learned from doing tutorials online and purse patterns that I have bought. If anyone is interested I will show you the silly way I draft my patterns, trust me it isnt very technical in ANY way.
I created two prototypes from this first pattern. I didnt take a photo of the first because it was a disaster, the bag shape was fine, it was the sewing that left me stumped, I searched online everywhere to try and find a tutorial for what I was trying to accomplish to no sucess. For some reason I was having a hard time wrapping around how I was suppose to turn out the bag. So I took out my hand dandy Japanesse craft books. I have a large collection of these thanks to trips I have taken to see Ken's family (San Diego & Hawaii) so I knew there had to be SOMETHING in there that could help me out and lucky for me there was. So prototype 2 was born (prototype #1 had been seam ripped so many times it was a lost cause to finish, poor prototype).
The bag turned out alright, but on a person it was way to skinny in the body. So I went back to the draft board (read my living room floor) and got to work drawing a new pattern. Make the body taller and a little less wide. Which led me to prototype 3 (drum roll please)
Ta-Da! It is a medium/large bag with the shape that I wanted. Plus thanks to the trials I have got a new skill done. Now I just need to crank out 20 or so of these bags in various vintage fabrics. (wish me luck!)
No post of course around here couldnt be without Leila so she volunteered to model while sharing in my joys of sucess.
And what better way to celebrate then an inpromptu picnic on the bedroom floor.Happy Tuesday everyone, hopefully you made it to the end of this LONG post!!!
4 Comments:
love it! I can't wait to see all of your goodies at the craftacular! :)
Both bags are adorable! I like seeing your process here. I made three bags recently for Christmas presents and each one came from random ideas floating around in my head. I think I would have been far better off if I'd found an inspiration photo like you did... I think it might have saved me from some design issues that popped up in the middle of the making. Live and learn, I guess.
The bag turned out so good! I love it! just the right size! It was fun to read about your creative process as well!
Hey, That's me! More accurately, that's my daughter and my bag. I'm Betty of "Bette's Bags". Your bag looks great! And we both have the cutest daughters. Thanks so much for sharing my flickr link.
Here's some others:
www.bettesbags.com
www.bettesbags.etsy.com
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