Friday, March 2, 2012

How I make my own patterns

Earlier this week I blogged about my inspiration, but today I want to share a secret about my designs. My previously ultra, topsecret, super important design book! If any professional designers see this, they will likely scoff at my chicken scratch, but this process WORKS for me. You'll be able to see by looking at my book, that even by showing it to the world, it would be very hard to make sense of my notes, so in turn, really hard to steal my ideas :)

My design book. Sorry if you were expecting something fancy. 
But I am just not a fancy girl!
Simple is the way I roll.

So after I find inspiration, lose a little sleep, the next step is to try to create it. First, I kind of scribble what the bag should look like in the end, so I can remember how to put it together again. Then I guess the approximate end size, and guess how big I should cut my pieces. This often gets me in trouble! But you've got to start somewhere :) Once I get a size I like, I write it in my notebook. Sometimes my kids will help decorate my book when I'm not looking. Not sure yet if I appreciate that or not :/

A couple of my "patterns"
Along with my patterns, you will see some scribbles from my budding sidekick, Audrey :)

Then there are the ideas I get that I really want to get to, but don't have the time yet. So in comes my sticky note system. These are usually ideas that pop into my head quicker than I can get to my notebook. So I scribble them out, and eventually, they find a home in The Book. If they are lucky, they become actual bags when a new season rolls around!


Can you guess what this became?

That chicken scratch turns into something like this :) Not too shabby,eh?


...and this, eventually became...


THIS! One idea, a piece of paper, some fabric and some time :)




3 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your process. Great bags.

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  2. I LOVE the polka dots and flowers one.:) It's so bright and springy and just nice.:)

    ReplyDelete

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