3 Handmade Bags
Look at those happy faces! The faces of three awesome women who just made their backpacks themselves! And now: LOOK AT THOSE BAGS! Far out! This Mumma and daughter trio blew me away with their creativity, dedication to this project and inspiring family bond. Let me introduce y'all to Willow, Cara and Clover (from left to right) and tell you about our project together.
We started with pencil and paper. That's right! These ladies kicked off right at the beginning with an inspiration to design their own fabric. Each of them came up with a motif or a collection of motifs, and we worked together to digitize them. We played with the layout and the colours until it made us all beam with excitement. Finally, we printed fabric through Next State Print onto organic cotton canvas and we were ready to sew our bags.
" I never envisioned that I’d be able to make anything that I could use, or something of such good quality, and I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I could design my own fabric" -Cara
We used Sarah Kirsten's 'Raspberry Rucksack' pattern and took it one step at a time. The pattern instructions are so precise, paired with clear illustrations, it was easy for us to break it down step by step and work on it over several weeks. From the pop-up pocket on the front, to sewing zippers around a curve and even hand-sewing the finishing binding in place, these three women were so patient with the process and with themselves and truly dedicated to their bags’ progress.
The finished products are such beautiful expressions of these women and I'm so happy that I could help them with the process. Cara had not sewn a thing since lessons in high school and her daughters, Willow and Clover, had no prior sewing experience, but they met the challenge with a good attitude, the best humour, and they weren't afraid of using the unpicker! They each created something that they didn't know they were able to, and now have a super unique and functional thing that they can be proud of.
" I now have a creative outlet that I love and enjoy, my days off can’t come around fast enough. My girls have learnt that anything is possible and that they can create whatever their boundless minds can imagine” - Cara