Reflection

This class was incredibly fun and super educational. I am so glad that I was able to take it. I know about so many more aspects of textiles, and have also gained a better understanding of how to create something with fabric and other textiles. One of the highlights for me was learning about hand stitching, which I didn't know how to do before this class. I also really enjoyed the structure of the class. I really appreciated being able to immediately go and try the skill we were learning after the demo.

I really enjoyed working on the design of this trunk bag, and I hope that I am able to make it or something similar in the near future. However, there are several aspects of the design that I am still not completely happy with. First off, I need to make a firm decision on if the bag should be stiff or flexible. I like the idea of a bag that can be compressed to snuggly hold its contents, but I also think that a stiff bag would be much more stable on my bike. I also don't know if I want the bag to be something that stays on my bike or something that I can take off easily. My current design is definitely one that is meant to stay on the bike. While I would prefer it to be easily removable, I couldn't think of a easily fabricated way to attach the bag in a removable fashion without compromising other aspects of the design I wanted to keep. Finally, if I did go with a stiff bag, I would investigate other ways to open the bag (perhaps more of a lid like design). While my prototype did seem to validate the duffle enclosure, I still have misgivings. However, I think it is the easiest to fabricate and open since it is only a single zipper. 

Unfortunately, all of these second thoughts I am having about my design cannot be answered at this stage in the process. I need to be able to make a version of the bag and use it in order to iterate the design further.