This is a muslin fabric proto-type of the everyday shoulder bag. It must fit my Camelbak bottle, which by the way, YOU MUST CLEAN EVERY DAY OR ELSE YUCKY STUFF WILL STICK TO THE VALVE. ugh.
I will never be able to get over how amazing it is to be a maker in Portland, Oregon. It is a city that nourishes its talent, helps it grow and distributes its fruit. Sometime in late 2012, while researching weather-resistant fabrics, I stumbled upon Rose City Textiles‘ website. Besides selling a wide variety of active-lifestyle fabrics (gore-tex! waxed canvas! breathable waterproof!), they also harbor the Portland Apparel Development Center, a studio full of industrial machinery fit for apparel and/or bag production. With hourly fees, you can use their sergers, industrial sewing machines, embroidery machines, t-shirt printer AND MY FAVORITE…the electronic cutting table! OHHHHHHH BABY. A machine that cuts your patterns electronically at a speed of a thousand times faster than your feeble human hands? HEAVEN.
Then I deconstruct the bag and rework on the pattern. This part is oddly gratifying.
I am currently taking their CAD (computer aided design) class to digitize my bag patterns so I can use the cutting table. These images show MY process of producing a prototype before digitizing it into the TUKACAD software. Next Tuesday, I will finally get to see how the cutting table works. Rest assured, I will also share the magic with you. INDUSTRIAL MAGIC.
Numbers! Figures! Measurements! OCDness!
Can’t lie- cutting fabric is my least favorite part of producing bags. It is often inaccurate and annoyingly time consuming. As I’m often worried about my limited time, this service will be SUCH a game-changer in how I produce my collections. Can I repeat how much I freakin’ hate cutting fabrics??? HATE IT.
Match the half-points, corners and curves with the cross-hairs on the TUKA mouse. It will trace the shape of the pattern unto the computer. WILD.
Seriously, Portland, you are pretty darn amazing.
Uber-excited,
Amy
Technology! Cutting fabric is my least favorite part too.
Thanks for giving such a thorough review! The line drawings are especially awesome 🙂
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This is such an excellent review, I’m glad I clicked over from Twitter to read it, must go back to read your earlier review. Thanks for the great giveaway
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