Bag making was completely new to me in 2016. There is a whole world there, believe me. I can’t remember now what exactly attracted me to a three day retreat in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of women I didn’t know, who were practising an art/craft about which I was blissfully ignorant. However, it involved uninterrupted sewing which was good enough for me, so off I went to the first Sew Brit British Bagmakers Weekend in March 2016. There I met, among many others, the redoubtable Mrs H, Samantha Hussey of Sewing Patterns by Mrs H, the irrepressible Liz Schaffner of Moments Designs and the fastest sewist on the planet, Christine Davis. Complete stars, all of them.

We had all sorts of “skill builder” exercises where I learnt about the mysteries of rivets, cam snaps and how to insert slip pockets and concealed zip pockets. I heard about different sorts of faux leather, interfacing (including the stuff that is used on the inside of car roofs!), and all sorts of bag “hardware”.

At the end of the weekend I came home with a carpet bag.

It even had internal pockets!

After that first encounter with the mysterious world of bag making, (or “Bagineering” as it is known to afficionados) I found that I really enjoyed the process and I have attended several more retreats since then. They are always great fun and packed with new learning opportunities. The results of my efforts can be seen on my Gallery pages.