Fabric selection and this, that and the other

I've tried out a couple of layouts for the bag. First of all the 'sunray and curve'. I photocopied different pieces of fabric to test out how they might look. I think the curve would need to have some sort of pale fringe or border to really highlight and emphasise it.














I tried this for the 'windmill' layout, then decided the big white circles upset the balance, so tried the following alternatives. The one that looks just like a piece of black fabric doesn't show up properly but it is the wrinkly fabric with circles of black /shiny thread.







































I could have a different design on each side of the bag.

I made some felt. This is not quite as random as it might sound. I did entertain the idea for a short while of making the base felt for the bag itself. Common sense returned luckily, but then I thought it might be nice to explore some possibilities for extra bits and pieces to attach to the bag - dangly things to add interest and movement.












I also made some felt balls to cut up to make large felt buttons - that was fun. Might have to make some more of those too!












I had some false starts trying to sew up my strippy piece of fabric - last time this was shown just tacked together. I began sewing it together with my machine but it just didn't look right. I considered using curves of stitching but then I didn't want to lose the looseness of the strips or the frayed edges. So I've handsewn using less than tidy stitches, and using the size and colour of the thread to add to the tonal shading.






















Last but not least I was looking at the wooden balls that I used when dyeing the black cloth with the white circles - they have taken the dye in places creating an interesting effect and now I'm wondering if I could incorporate them in some way. They'd have to be in some sort of net as they don't have holes through them.













So much to consider....