Friday 6 August 2010

California Dreamin'

This was a pattern I acquired from E patternscentral.com some time ago.  I eventually got to it this week and though, I didn't follow the pattern to the letter, it is near enough to look like their picture.

The pattern wasn't that easy to read, though that may have just been me.  In the end, I just took it step by step, and then with a flash of inspiration, realised what I was supposed to be accomplishing to form these sides.
Once I realised what I was trying to achieve, it all fell into place.  After that, it was all plain sailing to to the end.
This was some fabric my mum bought many years ago, before I had the children, and it has been sitting in my box for the last eleven years waiting for some inspiration.  Eve though I had never known what I was going to do with it, I had always liked it too much to give away.  It may have taken a long time to find something to do with it, but it was worth the wait.  As I wasn't going to find anything to go with it, I used the same fabric for the lining.

I used heavy duty iron on interfacing to give body to the outside of the bag, so it is firm enough to keep it's shape, but still soft enough to be comfortable.  All in all, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

15 comments:

Maggi said...

I like the fabrics and also when you use the bag it will have happy memories for you. Well done for persevering, sometimes patterns really are not clear and it makes me wonder how beginners cope - or do they just give up?

Anonymous said...

What a delightful bag! Good for you hanging on to the fabric, and it was perfect for a purse! I love the handle, very unique!


Wonderful job.


Ann Flowers
flowerscrazyq@gmail.com

Annie said...

That's a gorgeous bag. Love the colors and the cool handle. I think it always feels good to use something that has been sitting and waiting so long.

deepa said...

wow!!...Iam speechless..beautiful!!!...wow again

CraftyGryphon said...

That's really cute!!

(Scurries off to make note to add pattern to List Of Things Wanted and to figure out which cloth to use. Someday.)

Terry said...

It's beautiful fabric! I see why you couldn't part with it! The bag came out great! :0)

Sue said...

That is a lovely bag. You did a fabulous job. Lovely fabric, too. Just goes to show we can never keep anything too long!

Linda said...

What perfect fabric for that bag! You did a great job even with the pattern being hard to understand. It turned out really nice. Great job!

stitchersanon said...

Lovely. I cant read any patterns so you are one up on me lol

Gina E. said...

Oh I am so jealous of you, Jane! You achieve so much in such a short time, and your work is always perfectly lovely!

Mad about Craft said...

Really nice handbag, i like the shape of it and a really useful size.

Knitting Linguist said...

That's very nice. I especially like the abeles - very cool!

Serena Lewis said...

This is such a pretty bag! Lovely work, Jane. Sometimes, it's hard to understand patterns until suddenly the penny drops and all becomes clear.

Tudy said...

Love the fabric and bag. I have been trying to figure out a new one for me but have not made up my mind how I want to make it yet.

Rudee said...

I love the fabric and the shape, but those handles? They're awesome!