Twisted Roses Bag – Progress to Completion

Not quite a day or so but over the weekend I did make progress with and managed to complete the Twisted Roses Bag!

First of all the addition of strips of fabric across and down to cover and bind the raw edges of the individual rose squares (above).  I decided to machine stitch these because the numerous layers of fabric were so thick that I would have had to use a thimble for every stitch and I don’t really like having to use one – especially for that amount of work.  I decided to go with the uneven finish as I don’t think it detracts from this particular design.

Then turned inside out binding the side seams and bottom corners (above and below) using strips of lining fabric.

Almost there, this is the bag before the top has been bound and handles added.

The pattern called for plaited handles using a combination of the fabrics from the outside of the bag.  These were  machine sewn into place on to the outside of the bag and to hide the raw edges  of the handles each one was covered with two appliqué leaves which were stuffed with the same wadding as the bag (Hobbs) and stitched with stem and vein lines (pinned on to the bag above) then hand stitched in place.

ET VOILA!  The finished result – perfect for a summer wedding – I am so very happy

Twisted Roses Bag

This pattern is really lovely, I saw it in a magazine over a year ago but didn’t buy the magazine (a definite case of ‘you stupid woman’) then saw the magazine again at one of last years shows and made up for my earlier mistake.

I am making this particular bag for a couple of events which are planned later this year.  First of all my elder son’s graduation ceremony which is in a few weeks time and then for a friend’s wedding in September.  I really hope that the unpredictable  English summer weather stays good for both!

The roses are made by pleating a large square of fabric (9”) on to a smaller square of backing fabric (6”) then twisting and stitching the resulting ‘hump’ into a rose and tacking the folds into place.  Using a graduated print such as batik gives a lovely shaded appearance.  I’ve chosen shades of fuchsia and purple (can you tell I like these colours?) to go with the outfit I plan to wear and am really happy with the results so far.

The image shows progress so far, with 9 hand stitched roses pinned on to the bag (which comprises outer, wadding & lining) I absolutely loved making the flowers for this, it was something really therapeutic to do in front of the TV so I will try to find time (after I’ve finished the bag!) to write a tutorial for them as it is something I just have to share!

Hope to be able to show you the finished bag in a day or so.

Japanese Shima (Stripe) Bag

long time no post again I’m afraid!!

For one reason and another I have been preoccupied with other concerns during the past few weeks,  I’ve still been trying to fit my creative ventures in between work and family priorities but haven’t achieved much until the last week or two.

Since bags are my favourite endeavour at the moment I had to get back into creative mode by starting on this lovely kit which my mum bought me as a Christmas present from one of the craft shows last year.

This bag kit was very inexpensive (only £8) and included the pattern and fabrics – I just had to add my own wadding (Hobbs fusible) and trimmings to fasten the bag.  I decided to keep the design simple and use a cord and toggle fastener

I think these fabrics are lovely and the pattern so simple that I had to go out shopping, to use my bag as soon as possible!

This is the finished bag, I’ve taken pictures of both sides as the fabrics differ giving each side a slightly different character:

Front of bag:

Back of bag:

Reminder of the stockists link

Planned Projects – Tulip Bag

Another project waiting in the large ‘to-do’ pile is the Tulip Bag from Monkey Buttons.  I am planning to make the version with squares (made in black & grey on the pattern) using one or more of my lime green(ish) batiks and a plain brown cotton for the main colour which I have yet to buy.

I want to make this before summer to go with a lovely lime green frilled Rocha, John Rocha shrug which I  recently bought from Debenhams and which I plan to work part of my summer wardrobe around.  The shrug looks a bit pale in this picture but it is a really warm shade of lime, not too bright, which is set off really well against a dark chocolate brown.  It is a shame that digital cameras often don’t show true colours as these are much closer in shade than they appear to be here.

I Love this Bag – Bag No’s 5 & 6

This time I decided to ‘go it alone’  – no pattern, just a photograph of a bag which I saw at a show and the fabrics to make it.  Actually making the bag wasn’t too difficult but one of the hardest things was getting the proportions right – once I had done that (admittedly by trial and error) I was very

happy with the result.  The original bag which I had photographed had reverse appliqué ‘blobs’ but as I had never done any reverse appliqué I ‘bottled’ and stuck with the ‘normal’ appliqué technique which I am familiar with.  Having made the shopper I decided to use the remaining fabrics for a handbag (using the drawstring pattern for bag no 4).

The leather handles make these bags and being so pleased with them I have learned not to scrimp on trimmings if I want a good end result.

Patchwork Serengeti – Bag No 3

Gaining confidence I decided that I would get a pattern and this time chose and buy the fabrics separately.  The pattern, Serengeti, bought at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate, was from one of my favourite bag designers, Monkey Buttons and having a colour palette in mind I wandered from stall to stall to collect fat quarters to make this bag.

This time the bag was quilted using Hobbs Heirloom fusible cotton wadding.  This proved to be much easier to use than the interfacing which was provided for the Pennypot bag (I would definitely recommend using Hobbs for this kind of project – stockists can be found through a  Google search).  Hobbs is iron-on fusible on both sides and it can also be lifted and re-stuck if necessary (for example when turning a lining through after attaching to the outer part of a bag.)

I was even happier with this one!