Who would have thought I'd be designing purses?

The Sara Purse

If someone told me a few years, or well, even a few months ago I'd be posting about my first original fashion designs, I would have told them they were nuts. Oh, sure I'd had the odd thought about making a purse or clothes, but I never thought I'd have the guts to try and design something. Then again, I just discovered my little problem a month or so ago.

Knitting and crochet patterns make absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I'm not dumb, but I do have this problem with disconnected letters. I'm dyslexic. I'm a context, whole word kind of reader. I have no problem with paragraphs, but give me individual letters, especially lower case letters and numbers, and all I see is alphabet soup. I have to focus so hard to keep the letters straight, I loose sight of the directions themselves.

So what's a crocheter to do? I watched as many videos on shaping crochet works as I possibly could and winged it. When something didn't work, I ripped it out and started again. When it worked, I wrote down what I'd done. The patterns aren't formatted "correctly," but they make sense to me.

The Katie Purse

So here they are, my first three crochet designs. The Sara Purse is the largest of the three. It's a simple, single lined messenger style bag with a double crocheted handle, small inside pocket along the back wall, and lacy design on the flap.

The Katie Purse is the smallest. I had a small ball of lavender yarn left over from another project, and I found some beautiful black and white patterned linen on sale. I'd also found some metal beads and length of chain that called to me, and this design idea just fit. It's a simply pouch purse without pockets, double lined with black felt and the patterned linen, with a lacy flap and magnetic closure.

Little Black Clutch

Whenever I head into Decatur, when the deals at Aldi are worth all the extra miles, I stop by Handcock's Fabrics if I have any time at all. On the latest trip, I found a yard or so of gorgeous sparkly red fabric on sale. I just had to get it, which led to also finding the black and white linen mentioned above as well as some other bits and bobs I've yet to use. Anyway, the idea for this clutch came to me the moment I saw the fabric. The body itself is simple. There's no lace or fancy stitching, but it has some bling to it! I crocheted a rose with burgundy yarn and then beaded the edges to provide contrast, detail, and some sparkle. The inside is double lined with black felt and the red material. There are two full pockets inside with a zip closure.

Now, if I can only learn how to work my sewing machine, maybe I can get to altering the clothes I have now and learn how to make new ones.