A while back we found a rare publication dating from 1940s wartime Britain with the most wonderful selection of vintage diagram sewing patterns for bags and handbags. Diagram patterns are wonderful for the modern world of instant downloads as ,rather than rely on actual paper pieces, the instructions give you a squared grid chart where every square represents an inch, and a very simple shape drawn inside. You can then draw a squared grid of one inch squares and draw that simple shape onto the grid, following where the drawn lines cross the squares lines and corners. I may have made it sound a bit complicated, but believe me, its actually very simple and very liberating when you realise how easy it is....
Some of the shapes that they ask you to cut are so simple that they merely give you the measurements of the squares, rectangles or triangles needed to make the bags....
Anyway- thats probably enough info for the introduction as you may want to see the lovely pictures of the bags that you could be making. As always, the link to the patterns to purchase and download are at the bottm of the page- enjoy!
Thi sis a really pretty little bag, so easy to make, with just instructions of how to cut out the simple shapes and no grid. We think that it would be really pretty made in silks, satins, vintage floral prints, layers of organzas sewn together and lots of other pretty fabrics. You could make the petals from a contrasting colour to the main part of the bag too.
Made in creams and whites with beads, crystals and sequins , it would be really pretty for a bride and weddings.
This is a very chic 1940s roll top handbag sewing pattern- very simple to make yet very stylish as the bag top rolls down and is kept in place by the strap threaded through as in the picture. Imagine this made in jewel coloured taffetas or vintage floral prints or faux suedes and leathers......
This one is fun- its a handbag based on collar boxes- in the 'olden days', mens shirts had detatchable extemely stiff collars which were removed after wearing, and after cleaning were starched and kept in round collar boxes. Collar boxes are quite collectable now, and are often used as small storage boxes in bedrooms for jewellery etc. This one is very easy to make- has a stiff bottom with a soft drawstring top.
This is a good take on the ever popular tote bag. Its again very simple to make, and when you have followed the instructions once then you should be able to understand quite easily how to make it in different sizes. As you can see, theres a seam down the front and back in the centre, so you could use contrasting colurs or textures to make the bag really interesting and wantable.
This is a vintage sewing pattern for a bandbox bag- you could also use this as a storage box or even a hat box if you make it the correct size for your hats!
This is one of our most popular 1940s handbag patterns- it is a softly gathered bag which was originally made form very soft suede but today could be made from silks and satins and lots of other pretty fabrics.
We love the potential of vintage sewing patterns- firstly we ladies can never have too many bags and handbags, secondly they can be made from small pieces of left over fabrics, thirdly, if made for others they do not have 'to fit sizes precisely ' like hats or clothes, and lastly they make excellent gifts or items to sell as they are wantable items......many people worry about making bags as they think that they must have solid handles or very specific methods to be successful- fear not, try these and you will be very surprised how successful they are when made up.
Find the patterns for these bags and more on the website by clicking here
