pictures of fun stuff

Love all the bags!!! The cosmetic bag looks awesome.

Are those bags hard? Did you use a pattern? You make them look so wonderful you are making me want to try to make some as gifts. I really like those fabrics too. Everyone I know could use stuff like that, including myself. Great idea. Joy

"Joy Hardie" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Joy,

Thanks so much!!

They aren't hard at all. (And frankly, my dear, I don't think you would back down from a challenge if they were!! ;} )

For the first purse I did (the yellow one) I did use a pattern. That's McCall's 4118 A. Really simple really quick. I will tell you that on the second one I did (for my pal) I made the outside pockets 1 1/2" taller. They weren't deep enough to suit my tastes, or my cell phone. ;) Also, the pattern doesn't tell you to, but either bind with bias tape, or serge the top edges where you put in the zipper. Otherwise you will have that fringe thing going on under the zipper tape. :(

The others I didn't have a pattern for. I used the free tree skirt fabric.com was giving away a while back for the snowman purse. Because that fabric was made to be a tree skirt, or a table cloth, it only had the batting on the back. I lined that bag with a cotton print with snowmen faces all over it. :) I used the exact middle of the tree skirt. That was wide enough to give me room to cut out the shape of the purse without too much of a curve on the sides. The straps on that one were from the border of the tree skirt. The mittens and stockings ran around the outside of the circle that makes the tree skirt. So I cut that off and carefully folded it in half, right sides together and stitched the long edge. Turned the tube and Viola! handles. ;)

For the circle cosmetic bag, I was thinking of the old fashioned hat boxes. Now, granted, it's not as big as a hat box, but that's where the shape came from. I wanted her to be able to get things in and out of the bag easily, but I wanted it to close securely. So that meant a zipper around the top. Didn't have any zippers in my stash that were long enough that weren't separating zippers. That's why it's two zippers head to head instead of one zipper all the way around. I liked how it looked in the end, and would do it that way again. For that one, I cut two circles of the pre-quilted fabric large enough for the top and bottom (9" diameter.) Then one rectangle large enough to form the tube. There is also a series of inside pockets that are as tall as the border fabric on the outside at the bottom. I attached the inside pocket band to the large rectangle while it was all still flat. Then I stitched from the top of the pocket band to the bottom edge every 4". That formed the multiple pockets on the inside. Then I attached the zipper to the rectangle. Then sewed the short ends to form the tube, and bound that seam with bias tape made from the contrast fabric. Put the bottom on next, and bound that seam also. (binding that seam not only makes it neater inside, it helps the bag stand up well.) I lined the inside of the lid with contrast fabric so the bobbin stitches on the monogram would be hidden. You don't have to do that if you don't embroider on the lid. The handle is a narrow tube of the pre-quilted fabric. I bound the edge of the lid with bias tape too. Then came the only tricky part---attaching the zipper to the round lid. ;) This wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be. LOL! I keep wash away wonder tape on hand all the time anyway. It works great for putting zippers in anywhere. But I wouldn't want to put one in like this without it. It really helped. I did go around twice since all the weight of the bag will hang from that when she picks it up.

I got the fabric at Hancock's. The Hancock's here had quite a variety of the pre-quilted fabric and coordinating border prints to match.

I bet you could make some wonderful bags! Give it a whirl. I really enjoyed making these, they go quickly and so far everyone has loved them. I've had several people ask what I would charge to make them one. :) So, you never know, I might end up making a lot of bags. :) (Just from my own designs not patterns. I know the rules.)

Sharon

Adorable gifts. They will be the season's most valued gift. The fabric is really precious.

Beautiful, Sharon.

I especially love the yellow ones.

:) Trish

sharon... they are great! how do i get on your christmas list??? betsey "we do not inherit the earth, we caretake it for our children"

They really are easy. When I'm bogged down with a big project, or big batch of projects, I love to take some time out and do something quick. It's that instant (or darn near) gratification thing. These bags started as a quick fix project. And they fulfilled that very nicely. :)

And let's just put a small reality check on this shall we?? These bags ain't nuthin' compared to a complete Scarlett O'Hara wardrobe in 18" doll size, or a Scarlett garden party dress complete with all the underpinnings---they don't even compare to hand embellishing the fabric for that dress.

I think a sewing bag would be wonderful! If you want to make the lid and the bottom stiffer, you can use plastic needlework canvas cut to size and shape. Just cut two pieces of fabric that size + seam allowance and make a cover for the plastic canvas. Tack it in place and no one will ever know it's in there. :) Wouldn't a permanently attached pin cushion be great on the inside of the lid?? Remember the old time sewing baskets that had the padding on the inside of the lid? My grandmother had one of those and when I inherited it, it still had her needles stuck in there. :) You could do varying sizes of pockets on the inside too. Small ones for spools of thread and thimbles. Larger ones for shears. Etc. I'm thinking a row of small pockets around closer to the top, then big pockets below.

Are we scared that my brain is now on overdrive so early in the morning????? And on ONE CUP OF COFFEE!!?!?!?!? Something is obviously very wrong with me. LOL

Sharon

LOL Thanks Betsey.

I'm so excited that everyone has liked them. :) They really are a fun little project. Which makes showing them off that much more fun. I know everyone here could do them too.

Unfortunately, I gave myself a reality check in the last couple days. If I work non-stop from now till New Years, I will have all the projects I'd like to get done finished. lol Would you like to sign up for the Christmas list for next year?? ;) I'd squeeze you in sooner if you showed up at my house with a team of Merry Maids and cleaning supplies however.

Sharon

---doing emergency laundry at 6:30 for the boy who didn't have clean jeans for school. *sigh*

sharon-- give me the address, i'll be right over to clean!! betsey "we do not inherit the earth, we caretake it for our children"

(((Hugs))) Thanks Bestey! I think if you just follow the smell....I'll be cooking pumpkins tomorrow for pie. mmmm When you smell that you'll be close. ;) And you'd run if you saw what I can do to a kitchen when in a baking frenzy. LOL!!!!

Sharon