My attitude towards making accessories is much the same as how I make my garments. Avoid regimented pattern cutting where possible, never make any two the same and see where the materials take you. I have a low boredom threshold. I am not a factory line. I make things firstly for enjoyment followed closely second by the motivation to earn an income. I am not very disciplined.
As someone who has no particular desire to follow the crowd, I don’t want to be a cardboard cut out and, regretably, I think everyone else should be the same. Why can’t I have something noone else does? I own clothes no one else has. I make clothes no one else has. And there’s something rather satisfying about that. A large part of the beauty of these items is in their uniqueness.
Where accessories are concerned, it’s the same rationale. This isn’t so obvious with the bag charms that have been a fun addition to my shop. It’s also been helping to clear boxes of nic naks I probaby won’t use for any other purpose. But everyone’s making things like this and uniquely, so I’m unlikely to stand out from the crowd here. But I did sell a number of them last Christmas season so I have added to the numbers this year.
Bags are a different matter. I’ve had to make patterns for them but I’ve delighted in appropriating items from various sources to utilise for bag materials. Unable to find handles large enough to go over the shoulder, I’ve taken to using embroidery rings of various sizes and shapes.
I’ve also become quite hooked on asymmetric design. I am not the first to do this by any means, and cutting patterns are easy enough to find on Pinterest, but you can make the same design in various sizes, in various materials and for a wide variety of purposes from large shoppers to tiny evening bags.
This has allowed me again, to go through box loads of hoarded fabrics to create these bags and I’ve discovered vinyl table cloth is a great fabric for an eye catching addition to any collection.
Designing like this is a nice detour from my usual work, whilst still keeping my brain in creative tune and swelling the listing numbers on Etsy. Bags and other small accessories are also far easier to sell as gifts and when I go away I can pack them up in my car and take them with me which keeps last minute sales rolling in. Clothing is often too personal for Christmas and too bulky to transport with me. I don’t like putting my shop in vacation mode which means listings can’t be seen, and being seen is a worry for many of us online. Closing a shop for any length of time means potential lost sales and none of us can afford that.
The Unplanned Approach My attitude towards making accessories is much the same as how I make my garments. Avoid regimented pattern cutting where possible, never make any two the same and see where the materials take you.
