For my final project, I wanted to explore creating a cross-body bag with a unique design. This project was a continuation of a topic/sample we explored in class. I was inspired by the demonstration on darting, in which I took one of the techniques of creating a rectilinear bag with a bottom.
In creation of the bag, I explored different design ideas such as lowering the sides of the bag to create a space for the handles. I also explored using the different sides of the fabric, one for the bag and one for the handle, to see how it would add to the expression of the form. You can see these details below.
The process involved cutting a pattern that was the rectangular bottom with the sides formed around this piece (which you can see sketched below). I started by finishing the top margin of each bag. After this, the construction of the form involved sewing the sides up, using a darting technique, which allowed the bag to maintain a rectangular form. The handle was made separately by sewing along the margin of a folded piece of fabric and then turning it inside out. It was then sewn onto the shorter sides of the bag. While it was a relatively simple process, finishing the bag required a more thoughtful process than we had explored in class.
My primary motivation for this project was to explore machine sewing more, as I still didn't feel completely comfortable with the machine. Completing this project helped me to explore the process step-by-step of creating a pattern, making decisions about the process of sewing and finishing, and fully fabricating a design. I became much more comfortable with the sewing machine and it was really exciting to work on this project through concept to fabrication. In the future I plan on hand-sewing in a lining to the bag.
Another exploration I completed was constructing a stronger form of the felted bowl. I wanted to use the bowl as a container to actually hold pens and pencils at my studio desk, so I knew it needed to be a sturdier form than it was. To strengthen the form, I cut a triangular piece out of the side and then used a darting technique to sew the bowl back together. This created a stronger cylindrical form. I then dry felted over this seam to hide it. I also dry felted the bottom of the bowl, which you can see (the yellow wool) below. This added a lot more weight to the bottom and keeps it from falling over when items are placed inside of it.
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