Choosing Fabrics to Accent a Bag Design

Lazies, When looking for fabrics to dress my bag designs, I focus on fabrics that will work together as well as compliment the design features of the bag. Sometimes I draw fabrics together from all corners of my stash, other times I find what I need in one fabric collection. I think this ‘Lilliana’ line is perfect for my bag designs because of its combination of colors, prints and scale.

Scale
We first saw this scrumptious Claire Handbag back in October here. The main gold fabric has a medium scale flower. As it’s used on this bag, the size of the flower is large enough that we can’t see the whole pattern, but small enough to give you an idea of the flower/stem/leaves. We know what the design is, but we want to see the rest of it. The partial flowers invite your eye around the bag. The medium flower is a vastly different scale than the smaller plaid. Where the two fabric abut creates interest due in part to the difference in the scale.

Next, we have a smaller scale flower for the lining. The two fabrics compliment each other nicely. The light gray of the lining is a crisp and cheery invitation to the inside of the bag. The plaid? Well, what can I say – I’m in love. The plaid, set on a white background, is a smaller scale than both florals. It incorporates the colors of the lining and cover.

Color
We have four colors working together in this fabric collection: black, gray, white, yellow. Three of the main fabrics used in this project have all four colors in them, but each uses a different color for the background. Each of the main fabrics is anchored in a different color. The plaid has a white background. The medium floral is yellow and the lining is gray. Imagine how different the project would look if the lining had a yellow background. The lining of the bag would be lost against the yellow and white fabrics from the cover. Our eye would roll from the outside to the inside with a murky transition, rather than a crisp one.

Accent Color
Black is our accent color, anchoring the entire project. Without the black, the bag might seem ‘light’. Go ahead and cover the black with your hand and see what you think. Adding the black pocket front and center visually pulls the bits of black together in the other fabrics.

Defining the Design
Using fabrics that compliment and contrast help to strengthen the design lines of the bag. The angled seams of the center panel are easy to distinguish because of the fabrics used. Locating the top of the pocket is easy because the black is in stark contrast to the fabric underneath it. The handles flow smoothly from the top edge of the bag because we used the same fabric where it connects to the bag.