Bag for the Boss Lady

As you know during the summer I was a guest designer for the PAPERARTSY BLOG... not only were Mark and Leandra extremely generous with supplies, they were also so very lovely.It was an absolute pleasure to work for them. I was sad that my semester came to an end, but then I was given the opportunity to design some stamps,and so I have continued to work alongside the fantastic PaperArtsy team. So as a little thankyou I wanted to make something for Leandra....

I decided to make a bag, I needed to know what colours and styles Leandra liked, so I asked Mark.... he said he didn't have a clue hahaha and directed me to the very talented LIN BROWN We had a lovely chat, and Lin was able to give me some ideas.

So I hunted out a pattern that I liked. I knew I wanted to paint the bag, so the pattern had to be relatively simple. For 2 reasons, one.. a simple shape would show off the paint better, and two.. once painted the fabric was going to be stiff and harder to sew.

I found this free pattern.. BUTTERCUP BAG

I also found someone who had made alterations to the pattern... HERE...

So armed with 2 sets of instructions I set about creating my version.

I enlarged the pattern, and cut out my pieces in white cotton. Then I drew my designs onto paper, cut them out and played around with placement.

As you can see the bag has pleats, so I pinned those into place  before drawing my designs onto the fabric with a black uniball eye pen. 

Once all my pieces were drawn on, I started to paint. 

I used FRESCO PAINTS... mixed with Folk Art Plaid Fabric Medium..

this is one of the top pieces..

this is a main piece..

I filled in the whole piece of fabric..

doing the same on all pieces.. before adding details back in with the pen. 

I then added a little stamping to the background using MINI 23 and MINI 84 and one of thee hearts from EDY01

next I added a layer of Snowflake using a textured brayer..

and lastly I used the bumped stencilling technique..

now I had all my pieces painted..

I re pleated the main pieces and attached the tops. I decided to add a little definition with some piping, I made this using cotton cord and some of the lining fabric. 

I then made the lining, and inserted a recessed zip. 

I also made a pocket for the inside.. 

By now it was all getting bulky and hard to manoeuvre under the machine.. 

But finally it was almost done, just some finishing touches to add.. 

a little ribbon as a zipper pull. 

and a button detail for the front..

and so here it is all finished..

close up..

As I type this I am packing for the Doncaster show. I will be seeing Leandra the night before, so that is when she will receive this. I am scheduling this post so it will go public while I am there, as you read this she will already have the bag. Fingers crossed she likes it.. 

Darcy x