Just what every girl needs!
As a continuation from my previous post (about my Sari) this one is all about my wedding bag. Because it just wouldn’t be right to make myself a beautiful outfit and not make a bag to match.
Your probably wondering why I’m calling it My Wedding Bag? Mainly because I designed the bag from scratch, instead of following a pattern. There aren’t a lot of patterns for kiss lock bags – so I made my own. And I haven’t come up with a name – so I’ve just been calling it My Wedding Bag.
There are quite a few positives when designing your own (bag) pattern. Probably my favourite thing is being able to make a bag that suits me needs and style perfectly. I knew that my bag needed to be larger than a clutch. Just because Spence usually weighs me down with his things. Also I love pockets! So I included an internal slip and zipper pocket.
I wont lie – there are a few cons too. Mainly the extra time it takes compared to working off a pattern. And because I was under a deadline (the wedding) I had to cut a few corners. Usually I would make many versions of a pattern – tweaking and changing things until I’ve got everything perfect. But with my wedding bag I only had time to make the one – so I was hoping the whole time that it would work.
The fabric I used for this bag is the same ones I used to make my Sari and skirt. Jacquard Taffeta in Navy/Gold for the exterior with Pulse Charmeuse Satin in Peacock for the lining (from Spotlight). I’ve never worked with either of these fabrics for making bags before.
The satin was easier to work with than I expected because once interfaced it acts much like cotton. The Jacquard Taffeta however not so much. First I had trouble getting the Pellon SF101 to actually adhere to the fabric (mainly because of the embroidery). Once interfaced I noticed that the fabric on the right side looked pulled in some areas. I’ve concluded that it’s not such a great fabric for making bags.
In order to give My Wedding Bag something special I decided to use these pretty Dainty Flower Charms. I had originally purchased them for jewellery making but thought they would work perfectly on my bag. So I hand sewed them to the front before final assembly. They definitely give it more bling!
The trickiest part of making this bag was attaching the assembled bag to the kiss lock frame. It was the first time I’ve ever attached a bag to a screw in frame. Since I couldn’t find any tutorials for this I had to make it up as I went. Some things didn’t work perfectly – I accidentally attached the frame off centre. Not by much, but one side is slightly lopsided when closed.
On the other hand there were quite a few things that did work well! Like topstitching the fabric that sits on the hinge – reducing bulk. And clipping the fabric (within the seam allowance) around corners. I also used a combination of the screws, cord and glue to keep the bag attached to the frame. All things I will (hopefully) remember for next time.
I think there will definitely be a next time! I really enjoyed making My Wedding Bag (and Zahra’s) because it’s something I’ve never done before. There were a lot of firsts and a lot of new things to learn. In order to make the perfect bag it was necessary to design it myself. And although it’s not perfect I absolutely love it!
Just beautiful!!!! The wedding picture was great as well!!
Thanks so much! It was definitely worth all that effort when you see the wedding pics.
It is totally beautiful, Dianne and although you say you made some mistakes, I can’t see them and I doubt anyone else could. Well done.
Thanks so much ☺️ I was so relieved that it all came together in the end – and hopefully I’m the only one that can see the small mistakes 😉