Tag Archives: sewing

The Bag of a Thousand Uses Tutorial!

Posted on by Abi

Well alright, maybe not a thousand but this truly is a very useful little drawstring bag that you can adapt easily to fit your needs. Here are some of our suggestions:

Use it as a small gift bag, instantly making any gift look special.

Place herbs inside it and hang it up to make an attractive room fragrance.

Use it to keep your jewellery in.

Make it slightly larger and it could be used as a perfect bridesmaid bag.

Again make it slightly larger and using glitzy fabric, easily make yourself an evening bag.

What You’ll Need

Fabric in two designs for outside and lining

Dinner Plate

Pencil

Cord or ribbon

Step 1

Draw around your dinner plate on both your outside and lining fabric. Cut along your pencil lines so you have two circles of the same size. These usually look good if one fabric is paler than the other.

Step 2

Place the circles right sides together and pin around the edge.

Step 3

Sew around the edge of the circle (this can be by machine or hand). Remember to leave a gap so that the fabrics can be turned the right way out. Clip around the edge of the circle at approximately 5cm (2″) intervals.

Step 4

Turn the circles the right way out and sew the gap closed. Next iron your circular mat flat.

Step 5

Now we need to create a channel for the drawstring cord to go through. Begin by sewing around the circle approximately 1 1/2cm from the edge. Sew a complete circle with no gaps and make sure to sew back and forth at the beginning and end of the circle to reinforce. Now we sew another smaller circle, approximately 1cm in from the circle we’ve just sewn. Again no gaps and sew back and forth.

Step 6

Now we need to make two small cuts in our new channel so we can push the drawstring in. Cut on either side of the circle so that they face each other. It’s wise to sew a few stitches around the edges of these cuts to reinforce them.

Step 7

Now cut two pieces of cord (or ribbon), I particularly like using colour co-ordinating cord here. We now need to thread the cord through one hole and bring it around the entire circle and back out the same hole. With the other length of cord you need to thread it through the opposite hole and again pull it through the entire circle and back out. Either side is then knotted together. Tip. If you find it difficult to thread the cord through, a hair grip attached to one end of the cord can make the process easier.

Step 8

Pull your cords together and you have your completed bag! You can also turn it the other way out and it still works very well.

29 Comments (Leave a comment)

Mantle Place Runner Tutorial!

Posted on by Abi

I am one of those people who take the Christmas decorations down and then feel glum at how bare the room looks. Of course it’s nice to have less clutter, but you also notice the bits of paintwork that need retouching or in my case the radiator cover that’s seen better days. I had a lovely red mantle place runner across it all through December and as soon as it came off I wanted something to replace it.

So I have made my own version of a springtime runner to share with you all.

What You’ll Need

Fabric

Bondaweb

Tape measure

Thread

Step 1

First you need to measure your mantle place, both the length and depth. This is the basic size of your runner. You can draw this rectangle onto a piece of paper, or straight to fabric. Around the edge of the rectangle add flags or scallops or whatever shape you like.

Step 2

If you haven’t already done so transfer your design onto fabric. I chose a plain cream colour. Cut out your design. Next I edged the runner with a small zig zag stitch on the sewing machine. Of course you can hem it properly. But this isn’t an item with heavy use or washing, so as long as your neat with your zigs and zags they work very well and are very fast.

Step 3

The fun part! Decide on your decorative design. I chose hearts partly because I love hearts and partly because the next holiday I could think of was Valentines Day. Draw your design onto bondaweb or a similar product. If you need help with making appliques, look through the previous tutorials for full instructions. Iron your design onto fabric and cut out.

Step 4

Peel off the bondaweb backing paper and begin to iron your design onto your fabric flags/scallops etc.

Step 5

Again using a small zig zag stitch edge your applique designs. It is nice to use contrasting thread here so it stands out.

Step 6

Hang your mantle runner, stand back and enjoy your no longer bare/sparse surface 🙂

Comments Off on Mantle Place Runner Tutorial!

Lavender Filled Heart Tutorial

Posted on by Abi

It felt like time for a tutorial so this week I am sharing with you instructions to make Lavender filled Hearts. You can hang them wherever you like, but perhaps with the festive season in mind they would make nice gifts.

What You’ll Need

Cardboard

Fabric

Ribbon

Button

Step 1

First you need to create your pattern. Draw a heart onto the cardboard and once your happy with the shape cut it out. Take the shape and draw around it twice onto your fabric and cut out.

Step 2

You should now have two hearts cut out from your fabric. Place these right sides together and sew around the edge, remember to leave a gap about 3cm long on one of the straighter sides to allow the heart to be turned right way out.

Step 3

Turn your heart the right way out, pull it into shape and then press it with an iron. Now you need to fill the heart with dried lavender. Once full sew the open edge shut.

Step 4

Cut a suitable length of ribbon and fold in half. Sew either end of the ribbon to either side of the heart. To finish sew a pretty button onto either side of the ribbon.Then sit back and admire your creation!

2 Comments (Leave a comment)