At last I have finished my 'Country Cottage Bag' and here it is !!!

I just absolutely love this 'Braccialini Clock Bag' which could easily be decorated to look like a 'Cuckoo-clock Bag' or a 'Gingerbread House Bag'. If you are studying with me on Novelty Vintage Bags at Central Saint Martins this summer we will not be working with leather, but there is no reason why you can't make a bag inspired by this one, in fabric.

http://www.braccialini.com/

Getting back to my 'Country Cottage Bag', today I have been pondering over whether to add a window to its roof, or a chimney or both! Whatever I decide to do needs to be done before I can complete the bag.

This 'Moschino House Bag' is attached to a purse frame.

The thatched roof of this vintage 'House Bag' is made from raffia. The flowers are also embroidered in raffia.

The pattern for my 'Country Cottage Bag' is less structured than this bag but can be adapted to create a similar effect.

This is a close-up of the front door to my 'Cottage Bag'. As you can see I have used several different embroidery stitches which I teach on Embroidery Level 1 at Central Saint Martins. http://www.arts.ac.uk/csm/courses/short-courses/fashion-and-textiles/textile-design/embroidery---level-1/

I have decided on a rose print fabric for the main part of my 'Country Cottage Bag' and a plain yellow for its thatched roof. I have used applique and hand embroidery for the door, windows and extra flowers and plan to quilt the thatched roof.

I thought that I would start this blog by showing you some of the bags that inspired me to write the short course 'Novelty Vintage Bags'.