Students at the Studio!

Students Handbag Making Day

Last Saturday I had two lovely students spend the day at my studio in Edinburgh designing and making their own handbags. Neither of them had ever made a handbag before, but both had a love of textiles. Everything was included in their day, including a metre of Harris Tweed each. They designed and made their bags themselves, and were very surprised at what they could achieve in one fun and busy day.

The day began with them choosing their Harris Tweed and coordinating lining. They had already decided to base their designs on the classic mini IKEA blue bag, but of course in tweed it was going to look very different.

Students Pattern Making

The students learned how to make a pattern for their design. No computer aided design in this studio! Just good old paper and pencil, with the aid of a grader square and pattern curve.

The students then cut out the pattern in their chosen fabrics, including interlining fabrics to add strength and structure to the bags.

Students Get Sewing

They then got busy on the sewing machines sewing them all together. Not only were the bags interlined, they were also lined in lovely fabrics to give a professional finish. All interspersed with a few cups of coffee and biscuits!

Finished Bags

The final bags turned out perfectly. They used different webbing for the straps and even had their own trigger hooks for hanging keys off.

If you would like to come and make a handbag in a fun and relaxed environment, maybe with a friend or two, please get in touch! Gift vouchers are also available.

The full day runs from 10am – 4:30pm. Everything is included (except lunch.) There are a number of options for the day, depending on what you would like to learn, and there are also half day options.