The Broadland Backpack retains the Charlie’s Aunt vintage-inspired aesthetic whilst being wholly practical for modern use” I’ve been thinking about designing a backpack sewing pattern for a while now, but wanted it to reflect the Charlie’s Aunt vintage-style aesthetic whilst making it wholly practical for modern use. The result after much deliberation is Broadland Backpack…
The first pattern to be officially ‘minified’ is our old favourite wartime-inspired Home Front Bag” I’ve got more than 60 bag patterns of differing shapes and sizes in the Charlie’s Aunt range, dating back over the past 15 years I’ve been designing them. Recently though, I’ve been asked if it’s possible to ‘shrink’ the pattern…
Instructions for a zipper pocket and an adjustable strap have been added to the pattern” Like all designers, I have my favourites, and the Charlie’s Aunt Gunton Messenger Bag is right up there for me. There is something about the simplicity of this elegant but practical style – evocative of the 1940s era – that…
The Thorpeness Messenger Bag is a perfectly sized cross-body-style bag with clean lines reminiscent of 1940s shoulder bags” The beautiful early spring weather, which has brought with it an abundance of flowers in our garden and beyond, has inspired me to get out and photograph the latest Charlie’s Aunt bag pattern samples. I made the…
We would walk miles just to have a picnic, or to play on the bales in the stubble fields” Harvest time seems to get earlier every year. When we were children, in a village surrounded by agricultural land, harvest was something I really looked forward to. The excitement of seeing the first combine harvester arrive…
The colours of the tweed really blended so well with the shades of the surrounding countryside” I’ve been very fortunate over the years I’ve been designing to live near some stunning locations for my bag sewing pattern cover photoshoots. This has included the beach on a bracing misty October morning, the wilds of Norfolk’s saltmarsh…
If you time it right, in May, you will be greeted by bluebells in their thousands” I’ve recently been going through a ‘purple patch’. Not the kind that brings good fortune of the monetary variety but rather one that is of immeasurable value to the soul. Our garden, and the countryside and woodlands around south…
Most of the ribbons are rare vintage, with some dating back to the 1950s” I would say I’ve never been one for much ‘embellishment’ – not on clothing and accessories, nor in my story-telling. This I put down to having spent years as a news writer/editor, where only the facts were relevant. In fashion terms,…
With my latest beret design, named Nedging, I wanted to evoke the styles of the 1940s” The new year has got off to a damp and windy start in rural Suffolk. As I write, the sky is a pallid silver-grey, and mist from the rain is blurring the horizon, softening what are usually far-reaching views…
Seeing the avenue of trees in full autumn attire, albeit briefly before the wind left them bare, was a treat” I’ve recently rediscovered the meaning of a ‘sense of place’. I’ve always reflected fondly on memories of better times. But since having less than robust health, ‘home’ has become more important than ever. And by…