Bag of the Week

I love to make bags:  purses, totes, shoe bags, pails.  You get the idea.  In fact, I have made and photographed nearly enough “bags” (some of the items may be somewhat loosely defined) to feature a bag a week for the entire year.  Check back each week for new ideas and pictures.  Tutorials will be included on some of the pieces.

The Vintage Reticule Pattern was created by Hope Yoder.  I first made this bag in a class with Hope (watch for pictures of that bag in the future) at Sew Special Studio.  Each year I make and donate a few items to a silent auction for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, and this is the bag I created for them in 2008.  The color scheme was inspired by the fabric used for the top band – a chocolate brown printed velvet with tones of taupe, green and rust.  The bottom portion of the bag is crazy quilted with coordinating silk dupioni using Hope’s instructions and then embellished with couched fibers and bobbinwork decorative stitches.  The bag was lined with rust colored silk dupioni; the same fabric was used to make the top ruffle and to cover the large button on the front.  Beaded eyelash trim separates the two bands and the bag was finished with a beaded tassel.  The strap was made from thick cording covered with bias cut chocolate brown wool crepe using a FasTurn tool.