Bag of Bones

So there the bag sits, in bones as it were. Waiting for the next decision to be made, and quite frankly I don't seem in any hurry to make it!

I've always had a love of garment and accessory construction as well as design. When I was in college I majored in Apparel Design (with a minor in FOOD of course!) and to my sadness never did anything with it professionally. Over the years my ability to sew and eye for design has been what has kept me clothed in the lean years, and what made me smile throughout.

Designing bags, totes and carry-alls has always been a joy and my approach has been akin to draping garments. In garment draping, on a mannequin you use the actual fabric (or a muslin) to drape the style onto the dress form. The pattern stage actually comes after the draping. When I create a bag I generally use this technique albeit tweaked for practicality. I sketch, and cut a paper pattern. The paper pattern is pinned or glued together and things like size, form, proportion and the like are checked. The next step is to go to the 'bones', or in the case of the bag I'm currently working on (and many of my bags) the bag is cut out of a very stiff interfacing.
That is the stage the bag is at now. I've tweaked it a bit, removing some of the top of the bag (folded over in the photo) so the proportions are better and access to the bag is easier. From here it will be a matter of re-drawing the paper pattern, cutting two layers of interfacing, the padding, and the fabric and lining. The construction will follow in a haze of furrowed brows, pins adorning my clothing and a pencil in my hair. What will be born on the other end will hopefully be a smashing bag for knitting, one that is chic and yet able to carry even a bulky sweater in progress. I keep thinking Etsy, and never get there!

My Cable Luxe is about 2 inches short of finishing the front and moving on to the sleeves so I will NEED this bag! As it is knit all in one piece, it has passed the easily portable phase some time ago.

Fabric choice is the last decision actually and I really can't decide. I've been through quite a few contenders and think I have it narrowed down to two choices--- both VERY different.


This reflects my love of leopard. I would use 75 percent leopard and the vintage inspired floral for the bottom 25%.

The second, and quite opposite in feeling, combination is a Japanese themed fabric mixed with one that has the look of French handwriting on a mottled background--- with a bit of metallic.

Opinions always appreciated!

We're expecting snow here, and quite a lot of it by the sound of the ever droning voices of the weatherfolk. Perhaps 8 inches. This Florida/Hawaii girl is less than enchanted with a great deal of snow. I love to look at it but I am the Snow Removal Personnel. I'd be a lousy Canadian. Thankfully I'll be working from home until tomorrow afternoon when we'll be photographing our engaged couples having snowball fights. Easy enough. By the time I get to bride wrangling on Saturday, hopefully the snow will have cleared a bit.

Here comes the snow, I'll put the kettle on..............