Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the 7th big reveal! I am so excited to share with you Kylie from Gypsy Boho Design‘s Mystery “Bag” Challenge creation today 🙂
So without further ado…over the creator & owner of Gypsy Boho Design!

It was like a mystery box challenge on Master Chef (one of my favourite shows!) I loved being told here’s the hardware, make something beautiful from it! That really stretched my imagination. A designer more often than not will have a shape/overall picture in mind and add the hardware later, this tipped that idea on it’s head and I loved it. It was though a challenge, good to stretch out the grey matter every now and then and I love what came out of it! Thanks Emma.
Let’s have a look at what Kylie created for the Challenge in more detail…(oh and if you want a little recap on what the challenge was and what items were on the mystery list, just click here!)
Contestants it’s time to lift the lid off your mystery box!!!
Well that’s how it felt when Emma from Emkie Designs said here’s a list of items now go make a bag! Wow! What a concept to start from the hardware (one of my favourite things of course) and design a bag around this. Completely the opposite to how a bag is “normally designed”, with the hardware coming in at the end to bling it up. With my obsession for shiny things I couldn’t say no!
From the list of items I chose:
- D rings
- Eyelets
- Magnetic Snap
Some of you will already know I’m the being behind Handbag Hardware Australia and we have these awesome “No Tool” 11mm eyelets so I simply had to use these. The D ring is also a favourite of mine and I wanted to see if the humble D could be made into a feature instead of a function. The magnetic snap, so useful and easy to use, an essential in my books, but so often passed over for the more glamorous twist lock, the practical snap can be beautiful too.
After sitting with my chosen hardware on the workbench for many weeks, staring at me with its, well what are you going to do now look, finally a vision took shape. Sketching and sewing, 5 proformas later, Miss Ella was created.
I’d been wanting to create a smaller bag that could be crafted for either a casual event or a formal event. The final pattern will have a choice of interfacing combinations that can be used to transform her into a formal structured design or a walk in the park with puppy purse. All three elements, hardware, interfacing and fabric choice will dictate a bags overall end look, however, I love how interfacing can completely change how a bag behaves.
Miss Ella has been shown in her formal aspect here today and she’s created from:
Fabric
- Japanese Dobby Cloth (Navy)
- Pleather from MeTooPlease (Green)
- Lined with lovely yellow floral that I’ve completely lost the name of (selvage was cut off years ago)
Interfacing
- Decovil Light (Yes we will soon have this at HHA had to try it, how did I live without it!)
- 640 Fleece
- Lining has SF101
Hardware (Mystery Challenge – M/C)
- 2”/50mm D ring (M/C)
- 18mm Magnetic Snap (M/C)
- 11mm Eyelet (No Tool) (M/C)
- 20mm Swivel snap hooks
- 8mm x 3mm Chicago Screws
- 20mm strap ends
The Mystery Box challenge design, Miss Ella, will be published in late July 2017 and will be included in our Gypsy Boho Design portfolio as the forth bag in our new little venture!
Didn’t I tell you Kylie’s creation was amazing! And I’m so looking forward to the pattern being released later in 2017 🙂
Until then, happy sewing!
Emma
2 Comments
Alison Heath
May 4, 2017 at 8:17 amLove it, that pop of lime really makes the whole bag sing
Now it's your turn for the Mystery "Bag" Challenge! - Emkie Designs
May 19, 2017 at 4:24 am[…] Creation 7 […]