This is an archived virtual workshop listing. Here you can read testimonials from the workshop's participants, view their resulting bags and learn more about the teacher.

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The Bag Makers Workshop

"Going Pro" Series: Intro to Pattern Drafting for Bag Makers - Featuring Isabela Felix

October 19-20, 2024

9am- 3:30pm PST

 

Please read ALL details before purchasing. 

Welcome to our FIRST workshop in our new "Going Pro" series! This is an introductory workshop that future workshops build upon. Get in on the ground floor and take your bag making skills to the next level. 

Workshop Requirements:

  • Skill level requirement: Intermediate Bag Maker
  • Sewing machine requirement: None. No sewing will be done. 
  • Software requirement: None. All drafting will be done by hand, on paper.  
  • No prior pattern drafting experience required. 
  • All supplies required are mentioned in the supply list posted near the bottom of this page.

Workshop description:

Please note- you will not receive a pattern download in the confirmation email. Please ignore the text.


If you can draw a straight line and want a bit more freedom to create or modify bag patterns, this workshop is for you!


Join us in this beginner-friendly pattern drafting workshop and learn valuable skills that you can use to alter an existing bag pattern, replicate a bag that caught your fancy, or design your very own patterns from scratch. 

We will focus on laying a strong foundation that you can continue to build upon. No prior experience is necessary.

You will learn proper pattern drafting techniques that are taught in fashion school & used in the industry, neatly packaged and presented in a fun, easy-to-understand, straightforward manner.

We will start from the very beginning by understanding how to join basic shapes to create a three-dimensional bag, reviewing basic geometry concepts, practicing symmetry, and shapes, adding seam allowance, darts, notches & labeling your pattern. These basic concepts will give you a clear understanding as to how and why patterns are drafted, allowing you to apply them to more intricate designs in the future.

You will learn how to draft a tote bag with boxed corners, and analyze and interpret a picture of an existing brand-name bag (with rounded corners and a gusset), and draft both patterns from scratch. 

This workshop will be taught using the imperial measurement system and is a prerequisite for future pattern drafting workshops taught by The Bag Making Academy.

 

Testimonials

View Workshop Bags

Want to see the resulting bags made by the workshop's participants?

View the Bag Gallery

About the Bag

Let's take your bag making skills to the next level.
Introducing our GOING PRO workshop series.
If you are an intermediate bag maker looking to get serious about your craft, then this introductory workshop is where you want to start.
If you are an advanced bag maker, but haven't taken that plunge into drafting your own patterns, this workshop is definitely for you.
In 2025, The Bag Makers Workshop will be offering you the opportunity to join the elite few that desire to make their bags stand out. The time is now. Get in on the ground floor and let your skills show that you are GOING PRO.

About The Teacher

I am the Founder and Pattern Designer behind The Bag Making Academy, an online shop and community for bag makers, where you find unique bag making materials, education, and resources.
I have been sewing since I was a child, but it wasn't until 2010 when I fell in love with the world of handbags and accessories. Back then there weren't too many courses and patterns for bags available, so I started designing my own patterns and learned a great deal through trial and error.
Since then I have attended design school and taken various courses in purse/accessory making, at colleges as well as from various Bag Making Experts and Artisans, in the US and around the world. I also owned a Sewing School and taught many bag making workshops (both in person and online).
Sadly, because of the pandemic I had to close my sewing school at the end of 2021. What could have been a very sad moment turned out to be my biggest catalyst; in the beginning of 2022, I released my first PDF pattern collection, the Fiori Collection, combining my passion for teaching and my extensive training in pattern drafting.
My patterns are designed to provide detailed, step-by-step information as well as tons of customization possibilities. I truly believe that anyone can achieve professional looking results, when given the proper training and the right materials.
Apart from designing patterns and selling bag making materials, I am a mom to 2 beautiful girls, who inspire and challenge me daily. Everything I do is for them, and because of them. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram, where I share about my day, and give you sneak peeks of what goes on behind the "seams."

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