Design process

We are taking a little trip in a few days and I need the perfect bag for it. I searched high and low for patterns but nothing was working so I decided to design my own. I measured a few of the bags I already own to get an idea of size. I pulled a bunch of fabrics and spent whatever free time I had in two days to draft my own pattern. I just finished testing it with some dotted swiss I picked up at a yard sale and I think it's going to work.

I thought I'd show a couple of photos of my fabric process. I start by pulling out anything that seems good to me and then I think about it. Next, I pare down even more to get to the heart of it. Tomorrow I'll narrow this down with my pattern and decide what's going to go where. I like mixing prints but I don't think that will work for me in a bag. I have an ideal self that mixes prints but in real life, I'm damn boring.

The bag I designed has a finished size of 16" wide at the bottom (4" deep -- it's a box bottom shape). At the top it's about 14" wide with two nice box pleats. I might finish off the top with a wide-ish band to keep it clean. I'm still not sure about what I'll do for pockets on the inside or if I'm going with one strap or two but I'm hoping that will be a little easier. I hope to post pics when I'm finished.