Cute little bag...

Hi! The March challenge for Sew Crazy Challenge at Crazy Little Projects is bags. I love making bags. And had a whole list of the ones that I planned to make. Unfortunately, this month has been rather busy. So I ended up making only one.

I made this bag as a birthday gift for my daughter's friend.

The original tutorial and pattern is from The Mother Huddle.

I embellished it using a flower made from some scraps from the printed fabric that I used as lining.

I also made a few hair bands that I put in the bag.

A perfect gift for a little girl, don't you agree?

Love,
Nan

Back to my old love...

Hi! I came across the Crazy Little Projects site some time back. What really caught my eye was the Sew Crazy Monthly Challenge, a sewing series which will have a monthly theme and a challenge.

I was very excited since I have been wanting to get back to sewing for some time now. I learnt to sew as a child from my mother who used to teach sewing, embroidery etc. Since I did Home Science, I did 3 more years of sewing in college. Though I have stopped making garments, I do enjoy making stuff like bags, cushion covers etc.

I was even more excited when I saw that one of the projects was a zippered pouch with pin tucks. Though pin tucks are not a problem, I have never been too comfortable with zippers. So this was my project of choice.

For the outer fabric, I recycled an old trouser. The print is from my stash. There is a great tutorial at Simple Simon & Co which I followed.

The pouch turned out a bit bigger that the tutorial since I could only get a 10 inch zipper. I embellished the pouch with some fabric flowers, embroidery and yellow wooden buttons.



Here is a close up of the pin tucks...



and the flowers.



The pouch now goes to my daughter to hold the million and half things that she needs to carry to school everyday.



I really had fun making this pouch. And the best part? Took me only around an hour to finish! I am definitely making more!

Love,
Nan

Strawberry bag

Hi! I decided to take a breather from paper crafting which has kept me busy for last few weeks and indulged my first love, sewing. 

My daughter's exams started recently and she needed a small backpack to carry her stuff to school. I had seen a cute strawberry bag on Pinterest a while ago.

Bronwyn Hayes of Red Brolly has been kind enough to give a detailed tutorial for the bag. I took inspiration from her and made my own version of Strawberry Backpack.

Body of the bag is red casement which I lined with paper canvas for stiffness.

I used a cotton dishcloth with a pretty print as lining inside. Originally I was planning to use a red and white polka dot fabric for the body. But I didn't have enough material. So I used plain red and compensated by quilting it with simple diagonal stitching lines.

For the leaves, I used two fabrics in green. I liked  Bronwyn's idea of leaving the edges raw so that they fray over time and give the bag a nice look. I also used the green print to make the drawstring and the top thru' which it will go.

My daughter was thrilled with the bag which holds all her stuff beautifully.

The best part is, this bag is completely washable in a washing machine (which is a prerequisite when you make anything for a child!).

The whole thing came together in about 3 hours. Maximum time was taken up by the quilting.

Now my brain has started thinking about other fruits that can be converted into bags!

I am now entering this bag in the Lets Create Crafts' April Craft Contest.

Love,
Nan