Pattern for Marimekko "clover" bag?

January 20, 2007 9:49 AM

I saw this Marimekko 'clover' bag at a friend's house recently, and I would love to make something similar (well, the more identical the better) for my wife.

Ideally, I would prefer a pre-existing pattern. Failing that, I would also accept instructions for how to make an accurate pattern from my friend's bag without ripping all the seams out. Part of the reason that I like this bag in particular is because the panels are cut so the bag has a little "bulge" -- i.e. they are all cut in fairly complex shapes (and my guess is if I tried to guesstimate a pattern, it would look like crap. The devil is in the details, etc.)

(I have read this thread on clothing, patterns, and copyright, but since this is for my wife (not for resale) I am not concerned about the issue of copying Marimekko's pattern. Unless you think I should be...

So: pattern? Or pattern-making tips?

posted by misterbrandt to clothing, beauty, & fashion (10 comments total)

I've recently got into the Craftster website for tutorials and made made a few bags for Christmas presents from them. The majority of tutorials are made by people with a little bit of experience but you may be able to amend a pattern to your needs. I'm sure you'd get some assistance if you ask on the boards. A list of existing tutorials can be found here and I think you'd probably find something similar under the 'Jordy' bags. Good luck!
posted by floanna at 10:04 AM on January 20, 2007

Are you sure you don't want to just buy it for $69?
posted by raf at 10:08 AM on January 20, 2007

Raf, where's the fun in that? :)
Floanna, thanks for reminding me about craftster. I haven't been there in ages. The Jordy bags don't look quite right, but I may try my question over there too. But I am not going to give up an AskMe yet!
posted by misterbrandt at 10:20 AM on January 20, 2007

I don't know how to make it, but I would like to say that my husband bought me this bag for Christmas and I LOVESES it. It's really a perfectly sized purse. Easy to carry, fits lots of stuff - but not so much stuff that it gets too heavy (on an average day I have wallet, pouch full of pens, iPod, gloves, and a book).

If you do copy (or buy) the purse, satisfaction is pretty much guaranteed.

(Oh and, the clover pattern is freaking gorgeous.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:38 AM on January 20, 2007

Do you know how to sew and draft patterns? It's hard to know what to suggest without knowing what your experience level is.

It's certainly possible to draft a pattern directly from an existing garment (or bag, in this case), but I don't think that's something you can teach someone Over The Internet.

Have you already looked at the major pattern companies (Simplicity, McCalls, Vogue, Butterick, Burda) and not found anything? That looks like a pretty simple bag. This Simplicity pattern, for instance, looks like it could be easily adapted to what you want, by treating the tied strap of the dark blue one differently.

Is there not a JoAnns or Hancock Fabrics, etc, near you? I would go and flip through the books. There are a gazillion bag patterns out there, and unless you're confident in your pattern-drafting skillz, it's a lot easier to start with a commercial pattern.
posted by thehmsbeagle at 10:51 AM on January 20, 2007

I suppose I should have said: yes, I can sew. I can follow patterns. I have never attempted to replicate an existing item, but I guess my question implied the methodology I would assume to be the easiest way to get it right: rip all the seams, and then transfer the sew and cut lines to paper with a pouncing wheel.

Thehmsbeagle -- is "draft a pattern" what I should be googling for? I find it hard to believe that it can't be taught over the nets -- I mean, it's the year after the year of user-generated content! Somebody should be able to stick a video on instructables or something.

I am wary about trying to take an existing pattern and adapt it to what I want, only because all of what I like about the Marimekko bag is its highly refined proportion/scale/details, and I could see going through about a million prototypes before arriving at the bag that I want. It would be kinder on my sanity to buy the bag at that point, even if my crafty soul would be very sad inside.

I was hoping that there was some Marimekko fan website out there that I wasn't able to google (sort of an ikea fans analogue)

hmmph. thanks all.
posted by misterbrandt at 12:33 PM on January 20, 2007

Maybe this will help: it's how to make a pattern from a ready-to-wear garment written by a member over at patternreview.com. It could be pretty easy to adapt to handbags, but be warned that if the bag has a zipper and you've never sewn one before, you might be getting in a little over your head.

The pattern thehmsbeagle linked to actually seems like a good one, because you can combine the strap from the bag in the upper-right corner and the body of the blue bag and get something pretty close. Altering patterns in that way isn't too hard, especially if you make a mock-up out of a cheap fabric first.

Hope this helps... and as an aside, you can get some fabric reminiscent of the kind used on that bag at reprodepot.com, who incidentally also sells marimekko bags.
posted by AV at 12:47 PM on January 20, 2007

Amy Butler's Nappy Bag pattern is very similar.
posted by kmel at 8:45 AM on January 21, 2007

P.S. I should add that the Nappy Bag pattern is larger than your Marimekko bag, but you could take the pattern to a copy shop and reduce it down 10-20% or so. It would be easy to square up the bottom corners rather than leave them at angles if those displease you.
posted by kmel at 6:22 PM on January 21, 2007

Well, thanks to all for your suggestions. I am torn about how to proceed. I think I will give AV's first link a try with my friend's original in hand. Even if the bag I end up with is a little "off" it will still be a better starting point to begin to tweak than starting with some other random pattern.
posted by misterbrandt at 8:48 PM on January 23, 2007