Winter bag for a friend

In August I posted about my friend Cyane and the bag I had created for her using fabric of her own design.  The fabric was printed at Spoonflower, a very cool business that will take your original artwork and turn it into yardage.  Cyane asked if I would make her a bag for the winter with some more of her fabric and this is the result.

My starting point was a fat quarter of quilting weight cotton so I knew I would have to use some ingenuity to create this bag.  My pattern stash turned up Vogue 8099, View B which I used with a couple of modifications.  The first thing I realized was that the fabric would need more body so I began by fusing it to some fusible fleece and channel stitching with topstitching thread between the motifs on the fabric. 

Adding a home dec fabric for the lining (along with some inner pockets) gave the bag plenty of structure.  I also combined the cotton fabric with a pewter gray linen which formed the bottom of the bag and the flap.  The Vogue pattern had only the flap and button as a closure.  Now, I happen to know that my friend Cyane has trouble with the contents of her purse spontaneously leaping out at unplanned moments so I felt that I should add a more secure closure.  I inserted a zipper into the top edge of the purse; the flap is purely decorative and folds over the zipper closure.  I added her monogram to the flap and bound the edge with some of the lining fabric.  The strap is made from the gray linen. 

This was a fun bag to make, and I hear the recipient loves it.  It arrived at her house on her birthday, an unplanned little lagniappe for a creative friend.  You can see other examples of Cyane's creativity at Snazzy Frogs and more of her fabric designs at Spoonflower.

Bag of the Week 52

Placemat Bag

This is my last Bag of the Week post.  I made it all the way to week #52 before I depleted my supply of bags and said, “what am I going to post for my last bag?”  Well, since it looked like I needed to come up with something at the last minute I decided to use that as a theme for a bag.  With New Years Eve arriving tomorrow you might be looking for a quick bag to sew for the festivities.  This little clutch began its life as a placemat (you can see a picture of it in my last post).  I simply seamed the two sides together, boxed the bottom just a wee bit, and it was done; it took me less than 20 minutes.   I think a frog closure would look great on this but you could also add a large snap to the inside.  Placemats are a great starting point because they already have some body to them and they are fully finished and lined.

I will continue to post pictures of bags as I create them but this is the last of my year-long feature.  I have enjoyed posting a recurring theme each week and I have some ideas for more of these in 2011 (but probably not a year-long venture).  Happy New Year to one and all.  I’ll see you next year!

Bag of the Week 50

Folded Quilted Tote Bag

Many years ago (before I had kids) I used to attend a sewing retreat with the Richmond Chapter of the American Sewing Guild at Holiday Lake 4H Camp in Appomattox, VA.  Our sewing space was a lovely lakeside cabin with beautiful views.  I met so many nice people at those retreats, and one year I watched as a number of the ladies made this fantastic tote bag.  I went home and made one for my mom out of fabrics I had in my stash.

This bag is terribly difficult to photograph – it has lots of nooks and crannies that are just impossible to show properly.  In the photo above there is a pocket underneath the triangular flap and an identical one on the opposite side of the bag.  In addition, in the center of the bag (between the top folded edges is another pocket.  PLUS I added a zippered pocket on one inside wall.  This bag starts out as a flat square, 31” in this case, which is then folded and stitched into the tote you see.  It is a fun and easy project.  Below are instructions for folding your finished square into the bag.  You can make your square in any method you choose.  My sample is strip-pieced onto a solid fabric foundation (with a thin layer of batting between) and the edges bound.  You can also use whole cloth for both sides and either bind the edges or stitch right sides together and turn. 

1.        Fold square diagonally with right sides together to form a triangle.

2.       Measure along the folded edge, divide this length into thirds and mark.  Beginning at the folded edge, draw a perpendicular line at these points stopping 1 inch from the top of the triangle.  Stitch along these lines, backtacking well at the top.

3.       Turn the side points to the outside of the bag along the stitching line – they will overlap and form a pocket on each side.  Stitch the two layers together where they overlap.

4.       Add a strap by stitching the ends to the inside of the bag, centered over the side seams.  Customize your bag by adding pockets to the inside of the bag before assembling.

Bag of the Week 14

Applied Flower Tote

I created this tote bag using Evy Hawkins’ Applied Flowers designs.  I stitched the blooms (32 in all) on cotton home dec fabric.  I then beaded the centers and attached them to the tote bag which I created without a pattern.  The bag is lined and the looped closure fastens around the top center flower.

Next week I will feature a garment I made with these same blooms.  It’s a totally different look.  Tune in.

Bag of the Week 7

Chubby Little Snowman Pail

Chubby Little Snowman had a carrot nose,

Along came Mr. Bunny and what do you suppose?

Hungry little bunny, looking for his lunch

Ate the snowman's carrot nose, nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!

 (as sung by my three-year-old)

Those of us here on the East Coast have had more than our share of snow this year.  And here comes another bucketful of snowy goodness guaranteed to warm your heart even when there are icicles all around.  Farmyard Creations has designed a fabric pail adorned with a snowman, complete with snaps for eyes, an appliquéd carrot nose and buttons down his front.  You begin by layering the outer pail fabric with batting and then fusing on the various pieces of the snowman.  Each piece is machine appliqued with a blanket stitch.  The mouth is hand embroidered, snaps form the eyes and the cheeks are blushed with powder blusher.  This outer layer is then stitched into the pail form and lined.  The quilted handle is secured to the pail with more buttons.

These pails make a wonderful container for homemade goodies at the holidays or for packaging other gifts.  They also make a nice container for holding holiday cards.  There are other designs in this same line by Farmyard Creations including a Santa, angel, bunny and bear.  The patterns appear to be out of print but they are frequently available on Ebay.  From what I can tell, the designer behind Farmyard Creations, Karla Eisenach, has now formed a new company with her daughters called Sweetwater which designs and markets quilting fabric, patterns and scrapbooking supplies.  They have a really wonderful blog which showcases many of their beautiful creations.