2 Full-Scale Checkerboards were the Launching Point for this Hefty Creation.

I am fortunate enough to attend a weekly game night where boardgames, cards, and dice are brought out for all attendees to partake in a few hours of merriment, and this is also the perfect audience to “Play Test” a few design features, pun fully intended. In this case, I had previously bought a fabric sampler of multiple swatches of the same chevron-esque fabric sewn onto a longer cloth of the same kind and that became the springboard for this product. When making a playable checker board, the color values need to be recognizable, and in this case the fabrics could be divided into dark and light relatively easily, without being too busy, but also causing a bit of textural intrigue. I alternated the colors and the orientation of the chevron pattern, creating an 8x8 grid and bordering it with a set of 6 fabrics. The seam allowance transformed a 30” x 30” square into a 20” x 20” square, as seen above. The bottom of the interior of the bag is a colorful diagonal square pattern and it is meant to contrast all of the neutrals of the other panels, a playful splash and skew that excites the eye as a surprise when you peer into the bag from above. I wanted the bag itself to be intentionally crafted to hold games of all sizes, and I will detail the inclusions below. A last-minute addition to the bag that I appreciate now is the Button Closure on the top of the bag, securing the interior contents and adding a 6th strap component to the bag and a feature that may appear in other designs moving forward.