The following blog post was written by Alys:
First up, I had a meeting with Emily and following the success of the Hove tote last year, we discussed creating another accessory pattern inspired by one of the signature In The Folds patterns.
I was living in Brighton, UK and Emily in Sydney Australia so we relied on zoom and Whatsapp for the development of this pattern!
Emily suggested we do a twist on the bumbag/cross bodybag and I suggested we use the Darlow pants, as the curved seams would be really interesting twisting around the bag.
1_Darlow pants technical sketch
Emily shared some inspiration images and we discussed which elements we liked and shared some more ideas with each other. One of the main features we were drawn to was to have an interesting strap detail connected to the main body.
2_Inspiration
I started by arranging the main curved pieces of the Darlow pants and scaling them down to 75% so they would fit proportionally for the bag shape.
3_Prepping the patterns
I assembled the three curved pattern pieces of the Darlow pants.
4_Darlow patterns taped
Then played with joining them to create some shapes for the body of the bag.
5_Darlow patterns taped (1) + (2)
I took a look at how the bags would look on the body - checking for shape, proportions and scale.
6_Shapes on body
Then I tweaked the shape of the bag, this initial version had a pleat added to the top of the bag.
7_Added pleat
Quick try on to see how it would look with a strap - this is all only paper at this point - then I sent it over to Emily to see what she thought!
8_Bag with strap
Emily suggested to add some length to the bag and then we agreed the next step was to make it in fabric so I could figure out how the strap would work.
9_Whatsapp conversation 1
10_Length added
Next I made the pattern, cutting through the first sample and creating each panel without seam allowance.
11_Paper pattern
Tracing it with seam allowance and adding notches and instructions.
12_Paper pattern
First fabric sample was sewn up. You’ll notice I was still playing around with the strap at this point.
I sent videos and photos over to Emily to get her feedback. It’s so helpful having two people work on a pattern, as it allows one of you to view it with fresh eyes and Emily has a great eye for details!
14_Emily feedback
15_Emily feedback
I added volume through the pattern and tweaked areas of the pattern, such as moving the bottom seam so it would sit towards the back rather than be visible on the front.
16_Tweaked seams.jpg
I attached the strap panel onto the main panel as Emily had suggested. Firstly I created a curved seam on the back to mirror the curved seams of the bag design. I ran out of magic scotch tape so enjoy my worm tape!!
17_Strap first edition
But the strap felt difficult to sew and so we decided some sharper points would make it clearer for sewists to know which parts joined together and where to pivot on the machine.
Top tip - use masking tape to rejoin fabric once cut!
18_Strap second edition
Ta da! The initial bag pattern was complete! You can see there are lots of stages of tweaks and alterations just to get the shape of the bag.
The next stages were finalising the bag construction - which involved many more toiles and samples between both Emily and myself! But I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing how the Darlow pants turned into the Darlow bag for the initial pattern!
The most important aspect is the Darlow bag as a standalone piece but we loved that we could draw inspiration from the Darlow pants and it felt even more special to use the panel shapes to inform the initial shape of the Darlow bag!
We can't wait to see your colour blocked versions!
#DarlowBagExtraResources