My entry in the Print and Plain Sewing Competition, by Carmila.

I started making handbags in December last year, before meeting Ann and attending to her classes, purely because I thought it was so simple that I could learn how to sew by myself.

It took me an entire weekend to do the first handbag, which was actually a little purse which turned to be far way too small, with an unbalanced zip and a horrible color.

At the end of that day I went to Google and I typed, “sewing classes Melbourne”.

After chasing Ann for a few weeks last Xmas (long story…) she finally took me into her classes.

6 months of classes and 25 home made handbags later, I’m pretty confident in the handbag making art. I love making them and now it takes me no time to finish them. I love trying new patterns and I’m even starting to create my own. Every time I turn my sewing machine on at home a handbag comes out!

I love mixing fabrics, and I love the vintage look. I think handbags give personality to your look, and this sentence comes from someone who swapped backpacks for handbags only 6 months ago…

This is my favorite model. It fits perfectly on my shoulder and is very comfortable to wear. It is also spacious but not bulky. The fabrics are flower print cotton for the sides of the bag and black denim for the bottom and handles. The lining is also flower print cotton.

And now I hope you enjoy the tutorial I made!

Carmila

PS: One more thing… any handbags storage solutions out there?

My Bag-Making Tutorial.