Friday, April 8, 2016

Game of Thrones Inspired Messenger Style Bag

I love the costumes from Game of Thrones, embellished elaborately with detailed hand embroidery, 3D embroidery and bead work. Michelle Carragher is a true artist. I have arthritis, so I do most of my embroidery by machine these days. The good news is that you don't always need an embroidery machine for this. You can do a lot with the basic and embroidery stitches on regular sewing machines, as I have here. I made my version of Cersei Lannister's red dress a while back. This time I decided to try something different. I love this dress worn by Sansa Stark, especially the neckline.  I thought something similar might look good on a bag.



















I started by creating embroidered fabric, using the straight and leaf stitches on my Bernina and several different thread colors.  This took several hours, as the fabric is thick and dense, and some of the stitches just sank in to the nap. I embellished the pieces for the sides and the flap in this manner.



 The bag construction was fairly easy. I added a zippered pocket and an open, divided pocket to the lining as well as a cellphone pocket and magnetic snap under the flap.



 Once I had constructed the bag and inserted the lining, I added rolled roses, rosebuds, and leaves to the flap.


 I learned to make rolled roses years ago from the works of  Elly Sienkiewicz, who has written many books on Baltimore Album Quilts and dimensional applique. My roses were made using two different fabrics, both to reduce bulk(the bag fabric is very heavy) and to create depth. 



I made raw edged leaves by sewing two velvety leaf pieces together, right sides facing outwards. Stitched leaf veins add texture.


I am pleased with the finished bag. It is big enough to hold my stuff and my iPad if necessary, and small enough for a person (like me) who prefers small purses.