Inspiration can be a real sucker. It never comes when it is badly needed, but will strike you out of nothing. In this case "nothing" is my sister Birgit who showed me an old bag which she found at our grandma's place. She asked me if I could make her a bag like that. The bag she showed me (I'm sorry, currently I don't have a photo of it) is a medium size purse with a twist: the bottom is folded to the top and attached with an rough zipper. When zipper is unzipped the bag is twice its normal size. Does my writing make sense? Probably not yet. Be patient :)
The second part of inspiration comes from my friend Jules. I can't say how many times I went grocery shopping with her and she forgot to bring a bag to carry her stuff home. Thus she bought one of those horrible plastic bags (yes, in Germany you gotta pay for your plastic bags). I hate those bags. It's just such a waste of resources and they are difficult to recycle. At home I try to reuse them, but usually they just take up so much space and in the end I never really use them. So I try to avoid them. On the other hand, often I forgot to take a reusable bag with me.
Wouldn't it be great to have a purse that turns in the large bag when it is needed? It really struck me when Birgit showed me this old bag. But instantly I saw the problem: the zipper. It's big, rough, difficult to use and even more difficult to sew in. Especially because it is not an all-purpose zipper (the only kind of zipper which I can kind of work with so far). So I started to consider alternatives. First I thought of snaps (also magnetic snaps) but I don't like to look of them when they are not closed. It wouldn't look pretty at all. Then I considered ordinary buttons. Using ordinary buttons would have meant to put button holes into the bag as well. I really didn't like the idea to have holes in my bag. Further digging into my box of "stuff" was necessary. Finally I found my little box of covered buttons. When I had those in my hand I remembered something about hair elastic being great with covered buttons. Coincidentally I still had a pack of unused ones at hand.
Two days ago I made the first prototype of it. I really liked the idea of it, but I also found a lot of things not working out as wished. Well, I passed it on to Birgit. She usually takes the stuff I make and tries them out and gives feedback. I'm sorry for the photos. As this is "only" the prototype I wasn't too careful, but I hope you already get the idea.
The first photo shows the bag folded in half. This way it can be used as a purse. Of course it is fully lined and with a smaller pocket inside. Three elastics and covered buttons hold the bottom to the top.
The second photo shows the bag unbuttoned and in it's full size. This way it can be used to carry a lot of things. A laptop fits in without problems.
Yesterday I made another one. This time I improved some features. The handles are sewn-in more nicely and I made the bag a bit larger to make sure A$ sized documents fit in without squeezing. In the middle of the bag I added another decorative line with more elastics. This way the bag can be adjusted in three different sizes. How great is this?!
This is the bag fully buttoned. You can click on the photos to see them in full size. It is great as a purse and even A4 sized documents fit in very well and neatly. Of course, this bag is also fully lined with soft cotton and has a small pocket to keep it tidy.
This photo shows the bag being buttoned in the middle. I like it this way best as I really like rather big purses. The broad straps keep it comfortably on your shoulders.
Here you can see the bag in its fully size. It is about 60cm (23.62") long and about 38cm (14.96") wide.
At the bottom of the bag the three buttons are sewn on. They are as useful as they are decorative!
I think this first one is not too bad. In future I will adjust some minor details. This first bag will be listed in our Etsy Store soon. As I'm not fully satisfied with it I will list as "sample piece" for a lower price.
Do you think this kind of a bag is useful? I'm happy about any feedback and/or questions about it!
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What a brainwave! I do like the design of the blue bag.I like that you can adjust to 3 different sizes and the buttons are a cool detail! Hurrah on an idea that serves the needs of your friends. I do like these small bags that can grow bigger when you do unexpected shopping.
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