Bag Three was another new creation, straight out of my head.
Just like Bag Two, I put the thoughts into iPad sketches and then sat down with the graph paper and drew a scale model and measured everything. I was still in the super early learning stages of trying to figure out construction, and I hadn’t yet dived into that abyss called YouTube bag making videos. Silly me.
There weren’t any requests pending for this bag, I got to decide on the entire construction and style. My friend that ended up with Bag Three is a hot pink – ok, any pink – and black fanatic, so it only made sense to go with the pink and black color scheme. Luckily the fabric portion had some white in it so that added a bit more dimension to it, as did the weave pattern in the vegan leather.
Yes, I know, vegan leather was called vinyl when I was a kid, but that vinyl is nothing more than a very distant relative to the variety and options in colors, finishes, and ingredients that we see in today’s materials.
I have nothing against leather – I use scrap leather and I buy a very limited amount of certain types of leather for specific uses.
I feel the same way about feathers and most other animal products, although I do limit the fur that I use on anything I’m making to recycled pieces from old coats and stoles and the like.
My personal opinion is that recycled materials of ANY sort are always a good option, and I do the thrift store route every few days in my area to see what I can find that I can tear down and utilize for new pieces. I also give our donation items a once over before we take them to the bin; if I can do more with the parts than the entire item would be worth as a whole, then I break it down and voila!
Bag Three was also a lesson for me in quadrangles with varying side measurements.
Bags One and Two had simple rectangles for each part of the bag – from the bottom interfacing to the cinch strap adjustable closure made from the reclaimed jeans on Two. Not so with Bag Three, The top opening is considerably larger than the base joint, and I have to say that I’m drawn to this style – it’s not quite so minimalist but definitely works with all sorts of fabrics and trims.