miniature suitcases

In my 2017 wrap-up post, I mentioned that I had gotten really into making miniature suitcases. I also said I wanted to blog about them. Better late than never!

Since it's been over three years since I constructed them, any immediate thoughts I may have had then are gone now. What I can say is that I made a lot of them. Perhaps thirty? More than pictured here, certainly!! So many that I sent several to Anne and have a whole shoebox left over. Pictured here are just ones that looked kind of nice together.

I made so many because a) I was severely depressed; b) I was on a medication that wasn't working for me and also had some gnar side-effects, which translated directly into not being able to do most of my normal hobbies, so I had nothing to do; c) I had a lot of fun mixing and matching fabrics; and d) I enjoyed making them, ofc!! I developed a workflow and could make several in one sitting. Also this is a very cheap craft, in the scheme of crafts. It's mainly cardboard (brown cardboard boxes as well as cereal boxes), glue, and fabric.

They're about two inches tall and an inch deep, I think. Blythe-sized! Although too small to fit actual dresses. Maybe these are more akin to valises? Either way, I feel like they're better as photo props than anything functional.

Each suitcase opens and has an exterior fabric and an interior fabric. I enjoyed picking out fat quarters at craft stores and creating color combinations I liked.

I have to say there's something very satisfying about the feel of them opening and closing. They stay closed due to that little strip seated in the bottom.

The thing I don't like about them (and about making them) is the handles. They've been in a box for three years now, so the handles are smooshed, but they were never great in the first place. I had a tough time getting the little pegs that hold the handle on to sit right. And this leather was the only thing I could find to use for a handle, but it stretched out a bit. Which is fine, but made it hard to get them in a uniform size.

To make these, I followed a specific YouTube tutorial which is now no longer on YouTube, it seems! But this one seems similar!

I've seriously debated making a video where I open up each of these to show the fabric combinations.

All right! I've got a couple more posts coming, so till next time!