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 14. A catch up on projects

Welcome to this weeks handmade monday, week 14 organised by wendy of 1stuniquegifts.
More photos than words this week as i'm tired from a long day at work. (My excuse and i'm sticking to it!!!)
So i just want to share with you what i have been working on for the past 2 weeks.
I have put my flowers onto hair clips and extended the leaves to come out of the sides.



A new denim bag for a lady at work.

Loads of pen cases which seem to be becoming my most popular item at fairs at the moment.

My new project for this week from my new Tilda project book which i will share with you more later on in the week. They look great in plant pots.

And finally one of the men where i work was moving in with his girlfriend and wanted to give her a moving in cushion which marked the date they had their 1st home. He chose the design from one of my books and chose the fabric and she absolutely loved it!!

Short and sweet, thanks for dropping by and please check out what other crafters have been creating this week at Wendys Blog
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

Handmade Monday Week 6

Welcome once again to Handmade Monday organised by Wendy of 1stUniqueGifts.
This seems to be turning into a very popular weekly blog, which is great. Last week there were 25 participants, all with lovely stories to tell of their week of craft. It's lovely to read about what everyone else is up to.
So for me it was a chance to finish my bags and as i reported in an earlier post this week i am very proud of what i have achieved.
And here is the finished result!
Pretty in Pink.

Glorious green.

And accessories to match!!

Mobile phone cases and pen cases.

Looking forward to hearing your comments on the bags as next weekend is my first craft fair of the year and these bags will be making an appearance.

Also making an appearance will be fabric flower brooches.

And just to finish off, a photo of my red heart wreath that i listed on folksy yesterday as part of The March Hares challenge, listing an item a day.

No sales so far but still hoping. If you are interested in my wreath or any other products you can find me on Folksy under CottonsAndDreams.

Thanks so much for stopping by and if you want to see more of Handmade Monday bloggers, pop over to Wendys Blog.

Until Next Time.

xxx

Do You Ever Just Gaze Instead Of Craft?

Weird title i guess for a blog post but lately it's something i find myself doing more and more.
I have loads to get on with and yet i sit at the desk and daydream about everything i can make and how i can make it. And do nothing!
Today was my day off from work so my aim was to finish off the 2 bags i have been working on all week. It took me literally all day as half the time i just sat gazing and thinking of how i would like to finish them off.
I have come to the conclusion it's either an age thing or just an artistic thing!!!
************
But the bags finally got finished and i am sooooo proud of the result, they are beautiful. I wouldnt usually say that about my own product but this time i will make an exception.
But you will have to wait til Monday to see them as i plan to unveil them on Handmade Monday when i know they will get a good viewing.
Below is a small teaser for you of the flower on the front of the bag!

And here is my listing in The March Hares challenge on folksy for day 4. No sales for me as yet this week but here's hoping.
A yellow and white padded heart wreath. Would look lovely in any home as a wall decoration.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time.

xxx

Handmade Monday Week 5

Welcome to week 5 of handmade Monday organised by Wendy of 1stUniqueGifts where all of us crafty people can get together and show what we have been up to or what we are working on at the moment.
I have to admit i seem to have spent several hours on the computer this week rather than getting on with my makes.
I signed up to a new site called crafty-bitz run by Sarah from Dragonfly Jersey. She's hoping to turn the site into an online craft fair and basically all you need to do is sign up, load your album with photos of your makes and also links to your shops or websites so that people can find you.
Sarah achieved her 1st goal of 50 members this week and is now aimimg for 200.
I've also spent quite a bit of time "lurking" around the folksy forum and have picked up quite a few tips on promoting and selling yourself. Hoping to put some of what i have learnt in action very soon.

So back to my makes.
Well i managed to finish off the mobile phone cases earlier in the week. And then, at the weekend, i found a bit of time to start cutting up the lovely fabric i bought last week and make a couple of summer bags.
The colours are rather loud i know but i like that.
So let me show you the beginning of the project and hopefully next week i can show you the end result.
First i have cut out 2 bases and attached them to some wadding.

Then i cut the pelmets. I think both materials for each bag will compliment each other very well.

Here are the straps.

The linings.

And the first base stitched.

Hopefully i have left you looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Pop back next week and i will show you.

Thank you for popping by.

xxx