Gift Copies

Have you ever received a gift that you liked so much you wanted more of it?  


That seems a no brainer if the gift was chocolate.  Who wouldn't want more chocolate?  You can always buy more chocolate as it tends to be within everyone's price range.


But what about a gift that is not consumable?  Diamonds are a great example.  I always like diamonds but probably can't afford many more.  


Some gifts you want more of but not an exact duplicate as what you have already received.  Like a red jacket you would love a duplicate of but in a more conservative brown.


That was my dilemma when a friend gave me an adorable little knitting bag.  Its made out of silk, has an outside and an inside pocket, a great yo-yo embellishment and it is just the right size for a sock knitting project.


See...

Isn't it cute?


I love it BUT there a couple of things that are could be better.  For one thing, the interior fabric is a flimsy, black fabric which means it's probably not very durable and it is very difficult to see any bits at the bottom of the bag.  Dark interiors are not good things.  In addition, I didn't like the button closure which was a little wooden ball.  Since it is right above the pocket embellishment I would have loved a more colorful button.


What's a girl to do?


Put up with the defects? (too irritating)


Remake the parts that are bothersome? (too much effort)


Hide it in a drawer never to see the light of day again? (but it is a great size)


Well this girl decided to make her own copy.


I have made two cousins of the original.


The first copy used simple geometry to produce a copy.


Here's how it turned out:

(LOVE THAT FABRIC!)


Boring details:  the fabric is a Michael Miller fabric called called Flora and Fauna Blossoms in raspberry.  The orange button is from the stash.  The interior fabric is the same as the exterior and the interior pocket has an orange zipper closure.  


When compared to the original though there is something our of whack.  

(sorry about the poor color correction)


After remeasuring everything I realized that I had got the length of the straps wrong.  The originals are 22" long while the copy has them at 12" long.  The big problem is that the pointy bottom part is not a ninety degree angle but more like one hundred and ten degrees.  In addition, the pocket turned out too short due to that miscalculation.  The original is more like a fat Buddha like bag while my copy is more like a skinny Fifties like bag. 


Here is my second try:

Boring details:  the fabric is a washed dupioni silk from the stash and backed with a lightweight fusible interfacing.The pocket embellishment is part of an old thread painting class.  The 'button' is an old Chinese coin, some wooden beads and a strip of the silk fabric.  The interior is a striped cotton from the stash and the interior pocket has a cream zipper.  Wanda McKnight (the hat stand) likes this copy the best as she is pretty conservative.  Almost forgot...I added some lavender buds between the exterior and interior so it smells as good as it looks. 


Now I have three new knitting bags - one the original gift, one a skinny replica and the third an orange silk Buddha bag.


If you would like copies of the patterns I created for these bags, please let me know and I'll scan them into a file for you or we can hook up and I can give you a hard copy.


Now I need to get back to my knitting so Paul can get this year's Christmas present this year:-)