Summer of Freedom Bag Reveal!

As promised, here is the final product of the Summer of Freedom Bag that I made.

As soon as the challenge was announced, I drew up a sketch for this bag, knowing that I wanted to have a red, white, and blue theme. Part of what "freedom" means to me is living in America where I can say what I want, live where I want to live, work the kind of job I like, and create in whatever medium makes me happiest. The stars and stripes of our flag will always represent that to me.

Since cutting up an American flag is frowned upon, even if it's for the purpose of expression, I decided to recreate the stars and stripes in my handbag design. here is my original sketch:



I knew that I had to somehow incorporate some sort of gathered/pleated/bunting type detail on the front of the purse. I drew the sketch on May 22, but didn't actually start making the bag until more than a month later. That gave me time to order a few supplies (like my "surprise" detail, the bag handles, and the perfect star-covered fabric.)

As I started making the bag, I knew I had to draft a pattern, but I didn't want to do a muslin sample as I normally do. So I decided that "freedom" would also be expressed by just going for it and dealing with challenges as they arose. And as anyone who makes handbags knows, challenges abound when you are working on a design from scratch!

I made the pleated bunting first. I knew that the bag would be made by getting that part right, and it's really the foundation of the bag. Linings are pretty easy, inside pockets are a breeze, and even though I had no idea how the handles would go on, I could solve that later. I knew from making my Pear handbag that a heavyweight interfacing would be too much for the types of folds I wanted in the bunting, so I used a lightweight interfacing instead.

I also decided to make the striped fabric all at once so it would be as accurate as possible later. I was crossing my fingers that I had enough scraps of the same color red to pull this off, and what do you know, I did! So here is the bag front in progress:


My first challenge is one that I always seem to have. Why do I insist on cutting things too short? So you see the pleated bunting part doesn't quite make it to the edge. I think I bring a little too much of my "quilting" skills to bear in my bag making (where everything has to be cut EXACT) and not enough of my "garment" skills (where you cut generously and adjust later.) Well, I will deal with that later.

Getting the angle correct when attaching the bunting to the stripes far outweighed the little problem I had & I consider that to be my first win!

I had another challenge when looking for a zipper. I have TONS of zippers, but for some reason, not a red, white, or blue one in the bunch!!! So instead of despairing, I decided to go with a yellow zipper to give the bag something unexpected. That inspired me to also find some yellow for the lining (what the hey), and I decided that the bag would close with another yellow zipper instead of a magnetic snap. So for want of a RWB zipper, yellow was introduced. I think it's appropriate because now I have the "summer" part of my "Summer of Freedom" bag!

That outside pocket (as I showed in my post on Thursday) is lined with the stars fabric. I think it is a perfect touch.

Next up is to tackle the lining. There's a lot going on with the lining - my boutique label, inside pockets, and the long yellow zipper:



I added some "bling" to the pocket (this is wide enough for business cards) using some awesome stars I found on Etsy.

Next up, I tackled the exterior of the bag. I found a way to fix the bunting being too short, and it ended up being the best solution. I had an "aha" moment much later, but decided to just go with it and leave it as is. I wonder if anyone can guess what my "aha" was as it relates to the bottom of the bag?



Phew! The rest of the bag was pretty smooth sailing - finished up the lining, attached it to the bag, and all that's left is the handles:



And here it is - the final "Summer of Freedom" bag that I call Kiwi:


This bag will go up for sale in the CABTeam Shop, and the proceeds donated to HeroBox.org.

Happy quilting!