How To Dress Claire Handbag in Drama!

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Lazies, The Claire Handbag pattern will be here in two weeks! So we have a little time to plan, scheme and dream until she gets here on June 15th.

Last week we discussed stack, chop and swap: Claire’s built-in secret for creating drama. As a good drama queen, Claire is equal parts attitude and attire. She’s got the attitude covered. The attire is up to you. So let’s talk about that a bit today.

Here are twelve cool cuts of the
‘Krakow’ line of fabrics by Mark Lipinski for Northcott Fabrics.

Cover and Pocket Fabrics
Claire needs 7 fat quarter (18″ x 20-22″) cuts of fabric total. Three fabrics for the outside and four for the inside  of the bag. Today, let’s pick two for the cover and one for the pocket. The collection above offers nice variety and there are a number of combinations that would create the drama we are after.

Sort Fabrics by Scale, Color, and/or Print
Color: there are 8 reds, 3 whites and 1 black. Perfect, I’ll use one of each color if possible.
Scale: there’s only one black fabric option, so we need to compliment its scale which is the smallest repeat print.
Print: several different shapes/repeats/random. Of the three whites, the stripe is fabulous, interesting and works with the black the best. Finally, I’ll chose a red print that works with both.

The Selection
Together, these three fabrics offer different levels of diversity.

Fabric 1: large scale random floral, primarily red
Fabric 2: wonky stripe, horizontal element, primarily white
Fabric 3: small scale repeat, primarily black

Two Feature Fabrics is Key
The red and white fabrics are good choices because they are interchangeable as the feature fabric for Claire. Both prints are strong enough to be the main fabric, are different enough to offer contrast and coordinate enough to serve as secondary fabric for one another. This is exactly what we want.

With the stack, chop and swap technique outlined last week, the fabrics will change places from the front to the back of the bag. So we want them to look good in both situations. Also, keep in mind that each of these two fabrics will provide one handle for the bag.

Front/back of Claire. Shown here with the optional flap
closure to be discussed in future blog post.

The black fabric with the small repeat is an opportunity to tie it all together. The black fabric is used to create a pocket at the middle panel on both sides of the bag. As the third fabric, it needs to play second fiddle to both feature fabrics.

Look how the depth of the black anchors the bag. Due to its shape and location, the third fabric is an accent, playing a very strong part in this production. Shown here with one of the bag’s options, the flap closure will be discussed in a future post.

All of this fabric fun creates interest
and drama where the seams meet.

She’ll Be Yours In No Time
We are growing closer and closer to Claire’s arrival. I can’t wait to get her in my hands and send her on her way to her new home with you.

Enjoy!
Joan