Felt a shoulder bag. Check out Knittychick.com for many free patterns for felted shoulder bags. Whether you knit the bag via the instructions or felt up some old sweaters you have laying around, it's not difficult to follow the directions and create a one-of-a-kind shoulder bag you'll be proud to say you made yourself.
Quilt a shoulder bag. Quilted shoulder bags can be anything from a traditional floral pattern to a more modern quilt pattern of color and form. Go to Henriettashandbags.com to look at some traditional bag patterns you can put your own touch on. Whether you are making a shoulder bag for yourself or a bag for a holiday gift to someone else, you'll find plenty of patterns and templates here to get you started.
Sew a purse in leather. The blog Sewingdivas.wordpress can show you step by step how to use a Vogue Pattern available from your local fabric store. The classic in shoulder bags, a leather bag may require a higher level of sewing machine and proper needles to get the job done, but the patterns themselves are easy to cut and piece together.
Put a pattern together yourself by looking closely at your favorite shoulder bag. Shoulder bags usually only have four or five components, so don't be afraid to take a close look at a bag you want to create and make your own pattern out of paper. This is a great way to spark your own creativity and help you make a unique representation of a bag you admire. Take your time and mock up a bag in simple canvas to make sure you have all the dimensions correct.
