How To Make A Bow

You may remember a few weeks back i posted a photo of this bag made from William Morris fabric and said that i felt it wouldnt look right with my usual Kanzashi flower and wondered if a bow would suit it better.
Well i havent made bows before so this was a new one on me and finally this week i got round to making one. I folded a strip of fabric in half and marked out 2 parallel lines 13ins long and 1.75ins wide finishing the ends off to a point and sewed around them leaving an opening at the centre for reversing. After stitching i trimmed around to leave a small seam allowance.

Turn right side out and press.

Fold and stitch 2 tucks at the centre of the strip and 2 tucks 3ins in from either end.

Fold the strip into a bow shape and stitch into place.

Add a small strip of fabric accross the centre made in the same way as the bow to create the bow knot. You can make this any width you prefer, mine is an inch wide. Secure with a few stitches at the back.

Decorate with a button or brooch.

My lovely brass button was acquired from a lovely 50 year button stash that i have just been given by a family member.

Attach to the bag with small hidden stitches and VOILA here it is and definately suits the bag i think!

And if you dont fancy making this yourself you can find the bag for sale in my Folksy shop CottonsAndDreams.

Many thanks for popping by and if you would like to see what other clever crafty folks have been up to this week follow the link to 1stuniquegifts and have a read of everyones blog for Handmade Monday.

Until next time.

xxx

Handmade Monday Week 8 - Bags, Fabrics and Cushions

Welcome to week 8 of Handmade Monday run by Wendy of 1stUniqueGifts. I feel quite a sense of achievement to still be joining in with the challenge of weekly blogging and still being spurred into keeping up with my sewing because of it.
Have to admit failure on The March Hares listing club on Folksy though, managing only to list for 5 days of the month!!!! Maybe try again in April!!
So this week was a positive sales week for me. If you popped by earlier in the week you will know i did a fair on Tuesday at Blooms Garden centre in Rugby and did really well. 4 bags sold and i now have 5 on order so a lot of sewing going on in the evenings after work at the moment.
Before doing anything new this week i finished off a bag i had been making from some left over William Morris fabric i had from a customers order earlier in the year.
As yet i havent put flowers on the front as i'm not sure they will look as good on this fabric and am wondering whether to try a small bow instead. As that bag was finally finished i visited The Bramble Patch and spent rather a lot on fabric!! It probably is a much dearer way of making things when i only buy by the quarter but it means i can always keep fresh with different designs and colours rather than mass producing the same product all the time and getting bored by what i do.
So i got some more dotty and daisy fabric but also some blue, red and even pink corduroy.

Preparation is the boring part so i cut, pinned and sewed darts in all of them at the same time, and also the linings.

Then the best bit, sewing them together!!

So that's the bases done and next job this week is to do all the pelmets.

As well taking all my new stock to the fairs last week i took some of my old stuff as well and put on at a bargain price just to destash.

Among these items were the bolster cushions i made a couple of years back for kids. Filled with small polyester beads they are brilliant cushions for kids, especially on long car journeys.

And i did well and sold half a dozen and even had a lady asking if i could make her one in chicken fabric, which i have!!

Now to clear up the mess on the floor!!!

Thanks for popping by and dont forget to pop by 1stUniqueGifts blog and see what other clever crafters have been up to this week.

Until Next Time.

xxx