Tuesday 21 October 2014

Bags of fun

We spend a fair bit of time in this house assessing the credibility of adverts.  Ever since the day my son suggested I buy a particular brand of bathroom cleaner because it would make the bathroom shine and it was a available 'in all good stores' (which I think he thought was the name of the shop) I have been ultra conscious of the impact advertising has on our children.  Understanding that the point of an advert is to encourage you to buy something has been a useful lesson for them.

Like most families we have had numerous conversations about whether a toy is for a boy or a girl but as a family that grew in a boy, boy, girl, boy configuration, all toys have been for all children and it wasn't until they started preschool that any preconceived ideas about what they 'should' be playing with has come to light. 

So now when they are watching the ad breaks or indeed wondering around a toy shop, they are pretty scathing about the gender specific promotion they encounter and increasingly bemoan the fact that they are unable to get what they want in a design that appeals to them.   Enter this week's make!

An hour before we were due to go out on Saturday my seven year old son suddenly exclaims 'I'm just so sick of my purple butterfly bag - why don't they make handbags for boys?!'.  No prizes for guessing what happened next.

We rummaged through the fabric piles and found this:

An offcut of some patchwork that I made to bind a baby blanket with.  We also found this...


which will do as a lining and a strap.  If I'd had more time I'd have used an interlining as well to give the bag more structure.

I figured the patchwork was just the right size for a child size messenger bag and the robot panel would make a funky back to the bag.  I cut the two side panels from the tartan at the top, and then used the pieces as a pattern for the lining.

Lo, and behold.  45 minutes and a quick press with the iron later, we had a boys handbag, or a man bag, or possibly a boy bag.  He promptly filled it with a purse (also borrowed from his sister, and possibly inspiration for my next make), two magnets, a pen, a flannel and a packet of tissues. 





He makes an excellent point though, there are literally dozens of girls' bags available but not so much for your discerning seven year old boy who needs somewhere to keep his flannel. 

1 comment:

  1. Nice. Real nice. I can him as a fashion leader of the future a la Paul Smith or similar.

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