A very good friend of mine is getting married in July and I shall be proudly taking on the role of bridesmaid for the second summer in a row (she says smugly). Now, although this is of course a very lovely thing, it does throw up some very important questions:-
1. Shall I attempt to make a wedding gift for my friend and her husband-to-be and, if so, what? (Perhaps I should have been asking myself this question a bit sooner than four weeks before the wedding date.......probably a bit late now to be coming up with any grand ideas for a handmade wedding quilt.)
2. Where am I to find a sophisticated yet very 'me' bag to match my (nice) purple bridesmaid's dress?
I suspect my answer to Question1 will end up being "maybe for the first anniversary instead......"
My answer to Question 2 is considerably more waffley and (rather selfishly) is causing me the biggest headache! For a while now I've been toying with some ideas for a new clutch bag and I really thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring my ideas to life. I have even picked out the perfect Amy Butler fabric from my little stash, which has exactly the right shades of mauve, lilac, indigo and mint green for my dress. Sadly, I am yet to come up with a design for the bag which will do this fabric justice and so, for now, it remains folded in a neat little square in my fabric box.
The problem is, I cannot seem to come up with a design which is formal and dressy enough for a wedding. Is this even possible with cotton fabric? I think the secret ingredient, which I am sorely lacking at the moment, is structure. I appear to be incapable of producing anything which doesn't just look like a glorified make-up bag! Case in point.....
Now admittedly this floral fabric is very make-up bag-esque but, still, it looked so much more versatile in my imagination! I was really hoping that the very simplistic and fuss-free design would make it look quite chic and understated. But no, it just looks like something which belongs on the dressing table. Don't get me wrong though, as make-up bags go, its really rather useful - tons of capacity and lots of rummage-room, which is always nice. And I absolutely LOVE these colours together - red and aqua truly are a match made in fabric heaven.
So there we go. A pretty enough make-up bag but not something which I will be re-creating for the wedding.
I based my design on a simple cotton book-bag design that I had - but, instead of adding straps, I added a second magnetic clasp so that it locks into place when folded over.
So where does all of this leave me and my gorgeous Amy Butler fabric? I think I am going to have to ponder this some more and get back to you.
My spidey senses tell me to look for a pattern or tutorial for a more structured clutch bag. Perhaps something a bit more boxy in shape, rather than a floppy little envelope like all of the other ideas I have come up with. I have been through my three favourite sewing books (pictured above) from cover to cover but nothing quite fits the bill. There's a very sweet looking quilted purse in Cath Kidston's Sew! but I'm not sure that this would be dressy enough for my wedding needs.
If anyone should stumble upon my little message in a bottle, and has any ideas or links which you think I might find useful, please do leave me a comment to help me on my way. I'll be your eternal servant!
Failing that, I shall keep you posted on my continued efforts!
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