I think all I can say is WOW!
At the beginning of the year, for my New Years ReSEWlutions, I set my self a huge challenge. To design and make a wedding bag for Zahra (my sister in law). I think I can honestly say that I managed to smash this goal – out of the park!
This wedding bag has been a labour of love! It took about 5 months all together – from the moment I started to design it to when I finally finished. I really had no idea it would take as long as it did. But the important thing is that I got it finished in time.
Since it’s a custom made wedding bag I was able to make it specifically to Zahra’s taste. The brief included; colours in soft pink or cream, large enough to fit her phone, feathers, gold hardware, pearl strap, metal crossbody strap and plenty of bling. I think I definitely managed to hit all of those goals!
I have designed a few bags in the past but nothing like this. There definitely aren’t any patterns like this online so I had to start from scratch. Including the interior zipper and slip pockets.
I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of firsts when it came to this wedding bag. For example; I’ve never tried attaching feathers to fabric before. Or worked with a slippery fabric like satin. I’ve also never attached a bag to a screw-in kiss lock frame. So there were plenty of times I was in uncharted territory.
The materials were sourced from a variety of places. I purchased the charmeuse satin fabric (in Rose) from my local Spotlight store. Whilst the kiss lock frame and ostrich feathers I sourced from Etsy.
Because I was working with satin I did use a range of interfacing to give the bag some stability. I block fused the satin to a iron-on, woven interfacing (SF101) – double layer- before cutting out the pattern pieces. This stops the satin from moving around or getting out of shape. The interfacing makes the satin behave similar to a cotton fabric. I also used iron-on fleece interfacing for the exterior.
One of the most time consuming parts was working out the placement and quantity of ostrich feathers. They come attached to a tape which I sewed directly onto the exterior fabric. I also layered multiple rows on top – to help hide the tape and give the bag more volume. This step took the longest and I ended up using 11 yards of feathers in total!
Tip: I used some cling wrap/plastic wrap to help protect the feathers as well as keeping them out of the way. It’s particularly helpful at keeping the feathers out of seams. Or when attaching the kiss lock frame.
There are several different types of kiss lock purse frames. One is the ‘glue in’ type, where you use cotton/paper cord to help keep the fabric in place. There are ‘sew in’ frames where you hand-sew the frame to the fabric. And the last type are ‘screw in’ frames in which you keep the fabric in place by using little metal screws.
I am pretty much a novice when it comes to attaching metal purse frames. I did try to find some tutorials about attaching the frames. There’s not many around. And I couldn’t find any that feature a ‘screw in’ frame – the one I happened to have. So I end up using cord & glue, to keep the fabric in place, as well as the screws for extra strength.
Although you can purchase pearl straps, in various sizes, on line. I was only able to find them in white, which wouldn’t match Zahra’s colour scheme. So instead I decided to make my own. Luckily I used to do quite a bit of jewellery making and have all the tools. All I needed to do was order the pink pearls and the gold crystal spacers – for the extra bling!
Wow! I am in awe every time I look at this bag! I can honestly say I’ve never worked so hard on one project for so long. But it was worth every minute to see the look of delight on Zahra’s face. The perfect wedding bag – to go with the most beautiful bride!
Honestly one of the most stunning bags I’ve ever seen! So in love with it! And somehow looks even better in person – you did an outstanding job 🙂
Thanks so much hun! 🥰 It was so lovely to meet you!
You always have a place to stay if you want to go to Albert Park 😉