It's In The Bag

There hasn't been much quilting going on in my studio lately... However, it doesn't mean that I haven't been in there!

I've been doing some wedding dress alterations... You know, every wedding dress NEEDS pockets... 



And I did some fitting alterations as well - A tuck here, a tuck there... and then there was the hem.











We hemmed and hawed (Haha - Get the pun?)about how to do it... you see it has a lace overlay that has a scalloped edge of lace sewn on at the hemline.  Do we take the lace off, shorten it and then sew the lace back on?  Or do we fold it under so that the scalloped edge is still at the bottom???  

In the end it came down to (my) time and (her) money so the bride decided to have me just fold the edge.  



I am happy to say that the dress is safely tucked away in my closet until the day of her bridal shower, when I will deliver it.

YaY!



And with my small herd of animals made of vintage quilts completed for now, I had a little time on my hands.  FUN!

Have you ever used vintage quilts for a project?  

What have you made with them?

My sister-in-law had shared pictures several weeks ago of some lovely bags that she had made as end-of-the-year gifts for her son's teachers.  
They were super cute and super easy and fast!



The tutorial from Crazy Little Projects can be found here...

Easy Tote Bag Tutorial






Her tips to me were...

- I use outdoor fabric so it's super easy to clean.
- I make the straps an inch or two longer than she calls for (you can always make longer and throw it over your shoulder to get an idea of where it will land and cut some off if it's too long. Hard to make it longer if it's too short!)
- When you are placing the straps, her photo is incorrect. You want the side of the straps with the seam touching right sides with the inner fabric.

I dove into my fabric closet and found three fabrics that are not of the typical fabric used for quilting and the amazingly they matched pretty well... The inside is a green corduroy.

I have a new item to be offered at the next Farmer's market!












My tips... I added a line of top stitching to the bag.  It adds a level of "professional" (or purchased) look.  It will also add to the strength of the bag by preventing the seam to pull if it gets overloaded.

















My other tip, since turning the long handle is described in the tutorial as time consuming and tedious... of course, I used a short cut!

Fold the fabric for the handle in half, lengthwise.  Press one edge in 1/4" the length of the handle.

Fold the opposite edge so that it is 1/4" over the center fold and press

You then need to line up the two raw edges of the handle - so that the folded edge covers the raw edge...

Press and sew...

No turning required!

It is time for me to get back to quilting... Well, maybe after another bag or two... or three.

Do you have any time saving tips that you pull out for similar situations?  

Please share! I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Sewing!

Melva

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