Well! It seems that my last post about quilting patterns touched a couple of nerves… it seems that any of us who have designed quilt patterns got a bit prickly about the comment that we do it to “make a quick buck.” (insert hysterical laughter).
So I thought I would give you a peek behind the green curtain on how my Chunky Wee Bag pattern got designed. While it’s definitely a humorous look at the monologue in my head, please don’t miss how many times I made and tested the bag before I let it out of the house. Seriously.
Here goes…
The 17th Time’s the Charm – OR – What it Took to Make the Chunky Wee Bag Pattern (said in my best Rocky and Bullwinkle voice-over)
It started out with a need (necessity being the mother of invention and all that): I had a date with my son and Disneyland. I needed a small bag that would go across my body, and carry just a wallet, glasses, phone and a snack. My usual handbag is part backpack, and had previously proven hard to manage in the cramped confines of a rollercoaster, so I thought I would just whip up something else. I’m a miss-fancy-pants-pattern-designer, right? Right. Read on for a peek into the mind of a (mad)woman on a mission to make the perfect bag.
Studio. Hmmm… what size bag? Let’s start with 8” x 8” shall we? Love that square! Love that balance! Couple inches deep. Flap. No zippers! Definitely need pockets inside to keep stuff separate. (What does the Bagginses have in its pocketses?) A ring… to clip keys onto. Where’s the calculator? Graph paper! Sketch, draw, redraw, recalculate.
OK, I think I have it, wait… adjust that a smidge… strap should be narrower? Yes. Fabric! ORANGE! The robot fabric! (Bad Robot!) Aha! Needs something. Grey? Yes… but something else. (Garlic? Chocolate?) Ooh, the retro one with the boomerangs! Yeah, baby! Groovy, baby! (But with better teeth!)
Can I do it all with black thread? Yessss. New needle, walking foot… who put felt under my bobbin again? Drop of oil. Water in the iron? OK!
Cut, fuse, sew, pin, wrangle, sew. Ooops. Flap’s in backwards. Bah! Pout. Rip, rip, rip. Pin. Check. Really? Sigh. Re-pin. Re-check. Sew. Yes! Post picture on FB. Awww, lots of likes 🙂
Disneyland! Wheeee! Works perfectly. Yay for pulling it out of my hat yesterday! Except for the flap needs Velcro. Why, thank you, yes, I made it! The strap could be a smidge wider. But still… success!
Home. I wanna use my cute wee bag! Too small. Can’t get the sketchbook in there. Huh. The tissues. The little box of emergency medical stuff that all mothers MUST carry even when their kid lives in a different state now. (I checked the handbook, it’s in there. Trust me). Pens. Nail file. Lip balm. Emergency chocolate.
Duh. Make it bigger.
Studio. What about 9” x 10”? Draw, calculate, funky Halloween fabric, cut, sew. Hmm. Don’t like the proportion much. Cute but… meh. Yes, you can have it.
What about deeper? Chunky deep. Like four inches deep? Oooh. Need a base board to hold that bottom out square. And how to get from a 4” side to a thinner strap?
How to get from a 4” side to a thinner strap??
Really. How to get from a 4” side to a thinner strap???
Toss and turn. Wee hours… EUREKA! That’s how to do it! Throw on clothes, grab tea, OMG MY HAIR. But no one’s gonna see me today. I hope. Baseball cap. Car keys. Studio!
Template plastic, more robot fabric, cut, sew. Hold breath. Turn inside-out. Iron. YES! (By George I Think She’s Got IT!) Topstitch that thing and get it into the bag. LOVE IT. (I know).
Move stuff into the bag. Fits! HAPPY!
Pattern? No… didn’t make a pattern for it yet. Yes, I should. Well, sure I’ll make you one while I write it. Have to test it anyway. And one for you. Oh, you want it bigger. That tall? To carry your iPad. Got it. Tall version coming up. Let’s try 8” x 10”.
Studio. Draw, calculate, cut, sew. Two sizes… officially a Pattern In Development. Flap’s funny on the tall one. Make it again. Try magnetic closures. Make it again. Ok, I’ll make you one. But I’m still working out this flap, OK?
Email blast to the Tester Peeps! Make a bag! Two sizes! Come on down!
Sorry for the hand sketches. Let me know if the writing makes sense. Yes? Argh, you’re right… I have no idea what I meant by that, obviously needed more chocolate. Yep, that sure is a better way of putting it. Thank you. That step should go first? Got it. Is the velcro in the right place? You think the flap’s fine? How are we doing? Ready to turn the bag? Yay! You made it! Pix for the blog!! THANK YOU!!
Still not sure about that taller bag. Flap still looks funny.
Rinse and repeat with second group of Tester Peeps. Wow, these gals totally saved my patootie. AGAIN. Whew.
Flap still looks funny. Harrumph. Back to the drawing board. Rules of design proportion? Rule of thirds? The Golden Rule? Shorten the flap? Yep, that helped. Still looks funny. The bag’s too tall. But it has to be 10” for the (#@*$) iPad. Too tall! Can’t shorten it. Waitaminute! I can make it wider!
Try 10” x 10”. Echino airplanes and scooters! Sweet fabric, but why didn’t they make it in ORANGE. Because not everyone luuurvvvess ORANGE, Sam. (Fools!) More for me! (Wicked laughter!) Cut, sew, flip, and BINGO – doesn’t look funny anymore. Love that square! Love that balance! Oh, you’d like one, but in linen. Sure. I need to test it again.
It’s Karen’s birthday and I could make her one of these. Except for the small one is too big for her – she likes them wee (she’s a Scot!) Make it smaller. SMALLER? Are you NUTS? Hmmm… 6” x 6” could work. If I move that and squeeze this and keep it SQUARE, and how the hell am I supposed to get my hand through there and yes, it’s so cute! Perfect. THREE sizes for the pattern now. Oh, you’d like one? Sure. I’m still testing it. No, it has to stay SQUARE. Trust me.
A pattern? Of course it’s a pattern. It will be out soon… I just need to run one more test!
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References:
- What does it have in its pocketses? – Gollum, in The Hobbit
- Bad Robot – J.J. Abrams’ production company (and on the end of every episode of Lost)
- Yeah, baby! Groovy, baby! (But with better teeth!) – Austin Powers
- By George I Think She’s Got It! – My Fair Lady
- Love it. I know – (“I love you.” “I know.”) Princess Leia and Han Solo, in The Empire Strikes Back
- Fools! – Mr. T from the A-Team
LMSAO!!! I love reading about the creative process in someone else’s mind!!! What a crazy process, but you ended up with a wonderful bouquet of bags!!!
Great bags. I especially like the large flap. I totally understand the process but mine is more with stitching. I’ve had to take out stitches because they didn’t look right or I made a counting mistake that can’t be adjusted. I never ends up just taking out that particular stitch. A year ago I created a Baby sampler stitchery using a Calvin and Hobbes picture. It was definitely a stitch, remove and make changes as I went along.
Ab-so-stinking-lutely! While I laughed like an idiot reading this, I knew exactly where you were coming from. And sometimes, just sometimes, I think, Oh, forget it, I hate this, what was I thinking?? Harder than giving birth. Almost.
You are quite the bag lady, Sam! Love this post. So true and sew funny! PS I want to buy some of your pins, but you don’t ship to Canada??? Eh?
Here is a special request…. One that says, “Hardcore Quilter”
Amen! Folks who say things like “to make a quick buck* are totally clueless. Selling is hard enough for one of a kind art let alone trying to make something the masses can replicate. pfizzle on them! The bag is darling. Maybe you could donate one to me and I can model it for you and give you exposure!
…
BBBWWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Very humorous, and perfectly illustrates why I like to buy a pattern when I make a bag! Someone else gets to make the mistakes and solve the problems 🙂
Bwahahahahahaha! HILARIOUS!
Delightful commentary! Have seen myself if most of those comments while trying out a pattern after the initial creativity wears off. Thanks for sharing…..cute bags!
Most entertaining and enlightening blog post I’ve read in a long time – thanks for that!!!
I agree with Pamela – I buy bag patterns, too, after trying one time to figure it out myself. I bow down to you designers!
So hilarious. So enlightening.
love hand sewn purses
Oh I love this. Also I have some of the fabrics you used. I am like this when I BUY a pattern because I guess some of them don’t the testers like you do. Or maybe I can’t follow directions. So enjoyed reading this- Thanks.
[…] patterns (it’s way harder work than you think–see one designer’s thoughts on it here). I like seeing that you or he or she has burned creative energy choosing fabrics, prewashing […]
[…] Wee Bag because I worked so hard to refine it, and I still use that pattern for my daily bag. https://huntersdesignstudio.com/2014/04/09/making-a-quick-buck/ I’m also really proud of the engineering in Dingbats… I managed to design a block that […]
I’m VERY interested in your Chunky Wee Bag pattern when it becomes available. Love the samples you showed on your blog!
You totally hooked me on this subject! I interpreted the original “quick buck” comment as the commenter saying patterns put out with unclear, abbreviated, confusing or inaccurate instructions were done by someone wanting to make a quick buck. I imagine that commenter would agree that working with testers and selling a pattern with clear and accurate instructions is a different thing altogether. I have enjoyed reading about your process.