How to make drawstring giftbags

These little bags are not only cute and easy to make, but, being useful for a variety of purposes, they are a little gift in itself.
With the right choice of fabric these little bags adapt to lots of occasions. The little bag below has been made from semitransparent, thin dark blue cotton with contrasting seams. It's the perfect packaging for a delicate object as the rhinestone keyring you can see in the picture.

When I give a quilt I especially like to giftwrap it in its own drawstring bag. It's nice and offers protection for when the quilt is being stored.

This is, by the way, my Giulia's rubberduckies" babyquilt in its bag made from a baby girl print cotton fabric.

Now, making the bags is really simple. All you need to do is figure out the size of the bag. Start by cutting a rectangle of fabrice that is double the height of the finished bag plus 1 inch (2.5cm) by the width of the bag plus 1 inch.

Fold the fabric in half as shown above with the wrong side facing outside. Close the two long sides with a simple straight seam, and if you don't use a serger, zigzag along the raw edges to protect the raw eges.

Then fold the upper, raw edge over twice towards the wrong side of the fabric, thus hiding the raw edge inside the fold.

Pin or cllip the hem in place all around the opening.

Sew in place with a straight seam next to the edge of the fold leaving a small opening (about 1/2 an inch / 1,5 cm) next to one of the side seams.

Now you can either use a ribbon or make your own, matching string.
To make the string cut a long strip of the same fabric (it should be at least double the circumference of the top of the bag). The strip should be about 1 inch wide. Fold the strip lenghtwise, ironing both raw edges towards the wrong side so that they meet in the middle of the strip.

Then fold the strip in half lengthwise, hiding the two raw edges inside the string. Iron.

Now sew a simple straight seam all along the open edge of the string to close it.

With a safety pin insert the string into the hem on the top of the bag throught the opening int he seam.

When the string has been inserted into the hem remove the pin and make a knot at both ends of the string to keep the fabric from unravelling and the end of the string from slipping back inside the hem.

The drawstring bag is finished.

Fill it with your. gift and draw the string

Have you made a project following this tutorial? Let me know what you think. Did you like it? Was it easy to understand and to follow? Do you have any suggestions?
Write a comment or send me an email using the contact form at the bottom of the page.

How to make a Pumpkin Table Runner or Placemat for Halloween

 

Getting ready for Halloween this year I prepared these pumpkin table runners / placemats.

Here's how they're made:

First you need to prepare a simple template. The tabe runners should be symmetric, therefore I cut half a pumpkin from paper and placed it onto the folded fabric. I traced the outline of the pumpking and cut through both layers. This needs to be done with the fabric, backing and batting.

Then you place the batting on the table, the backing on top of it right side up and the top fabric last right side facing down.

Clip or pin together and sew all the way around the pumpkin starting at the top and leaving a big enough space for the stem.

 

Clean the edges leaving a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Then turn the runner right side out through the opening for the stem. Now the fabric and backing should be on the outside with the backing hidden between the two layers.

 The stam is made from green felt. Cut a rectangle that's fits the table runner and insert it into the opening. Then fold the seam allowance on both sides (front and backing) towards the inside and pin in place. Attach with a straight stitch.

 The pumpkin structure is created with quilting.

 

If you want a simple pumpkin you're done. 

Otherwise you can personalize your Halloween table runner or placemat with embroidery.

This is what the backing lookes like (the green one is the table runner with the embroidery).

Here are the two runners together on the table:

Have you made a project following this tutorial? Let me know what you think. Did you like it? Was it easy to understand and to follow? Do you have any suggestions?
Write a comment or send me an email using the contact form at the bottom of the page.

How to make a luggage tag

After my last trip (to the festival of quilts in Birmingham in early august this year) I ended up waiting for my luggage at Bologna airport and ended up having to put two (!) suitcases back onto the conveyor belt, because even though they were identical to my suitcase, they weren't mine. So I decided to make a big and resistant luggage tag that would make it easy to identify my suitcase in the future.

Here's how I made it:

The tag measure 10x12 cm. For the front I prepared a quilted sandwich of that size folding the fabric over on the top (the other three sides will go into the binding).

 For the backside I cut a rectangle of transparent plastic (the variety that you buy in sheets sa cover for folders etc.). I then took three pieces of fabric folded in half (right side out) that I sewed onto the plastic. I placed the fold over the plastic from the right side and sewed it in place. Like that the double raw edges face outside and will go into the binding).

 For the upper edge (where there will be no binding) I folded the piece in half wrong side out and closed the one long side. 

Then I turned the right side out and added it to the top o the backside just as I did with the previous three pieces (the seam upwards).

 

For the binding I prepared a long strip (at least double the three side lengths with raw edges). I joined the two short sides to prepare a loop and then ironed the raw egdes  for the seam allowance towards the wrong side of the fabric on both sides.

For binding, I placed the front and back sides on top of each other, right sides out and clipped the binding in place all areound the three raw edges, folding mitered corners in the two angles.

I started sewing just above the tag, attaching the binding all the way around the rectangle and then continuing on around the loop, closing the strip all the way round.

Now all it takes is a cardboard rectangle where to write your information.

And this is how it lookes on the suitcase:

 Have you made a project following this tutorial? Let me know what you think. Did you like it? Was it easy to understand and to follow? Do you have any suggestions?
Write a comment or send me an email using the contact form at the bottom of the page.