If you’re here looking for some fresh content that doesn’t involve creatures preserved in jars I’m afraid to say that I’m still working with that fabric (I did order a lot of it, and I do work very slowly!). I’m trying out different applications to see how the fabric works in practice (both in terms of visual design and fabric weight/drape etc.) and my most recent experiment is this bag.

 

I’m not much of a ‘handbag’ person (handbag in the “lady’s purse” sense of the word), but in order to progress my meagre sewing skills I wanted to try something a little more adventurous than simply sewing two rectangles together and adding a strap, so I worked with a ‘handbag’ pattern from Amy Karol’s “Bend the Rules Sewing“. I’ve used my Curiosity Cabinet fabric for the outside of the bag and black 100% cotton for the contrasting pleats, inside of the straps and lining. It’s interfaced with cotton flannel (as recommended by Amy in her book) making the whole thing a bit sturdier. And it has a handy internal pocket (but if I were to make this bag again I would certainly make the pocket a bit deeper, and possibly add a few extra ones specifically sized for pens, phone etc.).

 

The pattern doesn’t give any dimensions for the finished product (I guess anyone with half a brain and a bit of sewing experience could figure this out from the cut fabric sizes) so, as a non-handbag person, I was very pleased that its finished size is quite large (± w42 x h30 x d10 cm) and therefore potentially more useful than your average handbag - big enough to hold sketchbook, drawing materials, laptop, camera, flask of tea and any other arty-day-out essentials, and just the right size to be used as a carry-bag for the daily grocery shop…