The Last of the Mini Series Drawstring Bags

Back in 2022 when I joined the Mini Series Sew Along, I had in mind to use the 4,5" unfinished blocks as focals for a collection of small drawstring gift bags, and I've finally made it happen. 16 in all - 15 sew along blocks + my first chevron block that was the wrong size. What a variety, right?

For the majority of the bags, I made use of stashed prints, though a few were made of solids - one each of Essex cotton-linen blend, textured cotton, and AG Kaleidoscope. It was my original intent to use Essex natural and quilt the exterior, like the first bag shown below; but when I realized I was low on that fabric, I figured why not use up some other stash?

The finished bags range from 6.5" wide x 8" tall to 8" x 10", all depending on the amount of a particular fabric I had.

The drawstring ties are a mix of 1/2" natural twill tape, which I purchased from Jeni Baker Patterns; 1/2" white twill tape purchased from Beyond Trim on etsy; and 2mm black waxed cord from Amazon. I always keep these options on hand for projects such as this.

It feels great to have that project finely completed, and a couple of the bags have already been gifted.... just as I'd hoped. I'm happy to have a stock of them, and I look forward to sharing more of them in the months ahead.

Other Small Makes

Looking back, I apparently started my pre-holiday sewing with a Pop Open Pouch, pattern by Aneela Hoey. I think I was really celebrating having finished my Modular quilt by trying a new pattern - something small and doable in a couple of hours. This pouch totally fit the bill, at 10" x 5"x 5", a great size and the pop-open design is really clever!

Fabric is all Carolyn Friedlander, which I love to pair for pouches.

And finished off with a leather pull and zipper tab, it became my new favorite and since I had the perfect use for it, I gifted it to myself. It's good to do that sometimes!

As always, I had ambitious plans for all the reusable fabric gift-bags I'd make. First were a handful using s.o.t.a.k handmade's drawstring bag tutorial, which I've made so many of, I have it memorized.

Then were a few using the Lined Drawstring Bag pattern + Expansion Pack from Jeni Baker. I especially love the new Mini Accent variation, like the two on either side of the basic bag below. Though they're all so great for gift-giving, and truth is I made a couple more that got used so quick I didn't get a photo.

Next up was a set of potholders that I hadn't planned until I saw Allison/@allisonehs post, inspired by a pattern in Modern Rainbow by Bryan House Quilts. They looked so perfect for what I needed, I stopped by my bookshelf for my copy of the book, then headed straight to my stash, where I happened across a "Strip-It Bundle" of Ombre Hand Dyes by Marcus Fabrics. It'd been there a while, obviously saved for this project. Made for someone who loves the ocean, the varying blues were just right. I loved them with that gray Essex, and quilted the potholders with straight lines.

I used the full width of the strips to piece backs for the potholders, and then found the ombre to be perfectly perfect for the binding.

On I went to make a sweet and small Wee Braw Bag, using Laura Cunningham's pattern, which I'd made a few times before, so I knew it would be enjoyable.

It's fun to pick out fabric for these, and I coordinated everything to go with that Rifle Paper Co. floral. Super sweet.

And finally, a Boxy Pouch, the original size in Pink Stitches' tutorial. Waxed Canvas is perfect for this pouch, in my humble opinion, and though I didn't get a photo, it's lined with a handsome print from Carolyn Friedlander's Instead. And again, a bit of leather lacing is the perfect finish.

So I think that catches you up on December's "special" sewing. Now I'll head to that WIP pile and see what else I need to finish up....

To Scotchgard or Not

After putting my Traverse Bag right to use [love it, btw!], a friend asked if I'd Scotchgarded it or not. Even though I live in an area that gets more than its share of rain, I had not; and in fact, never had water-treated any of my handmade bags. I decided to find out if I was the only one or not by creating my first Instagram poll.

I really didn't know what I was doing, and had to go to youtube for some help. But I figured it out, and was able to get a screenshot 24 hours later just before it disappeared.

So I guess I'm in the majority, but there were enough folks that do do it that I'd love to hear about it! I did find a post on Craftsy about it, but would still love to hear from you. Do tell in the comments!

The Little Stuff

It seems I've been making as many little projects as anything lately, and I must say, it's suited me just fine. There's been a pincushion, a couple of mini quilts, and more. Like a gift bag for my FAITH Circle swap item (said pincushion). Svetlana/s.o.t.a.khandmade's drawstring bag always pleases, and it was such fun stitching it up with a couple of fat-quarters of Cotton + Steel. Though the twill tape ties seemed to be everyone's favorite part.

I also needed a handmade gift for my coworker's birthday, and after some mulling, I decided on a Big Patchwork Tote by Ayumi Mills/Pink Penguin from Krista Hennebury's book,  Make It, Take It. I'd made one for daughter dear a while back, and was pretty sure my coworker had nothing like it, considering most of her handmade items had come from me over the years. Besides, this bag is a really enjoyable make, which was what I was definitely in the mood for. And I'd guessed right - she loved it. yay.

And most recently, I tried a new-to-me pattern for a Quilt-as-you-go Thread Catcher by Tessa/The Sewing Chick. This was a fun one too! Cutting the patchwork was a little fiddly, but the construction technique was terrific, and it measures 5" tall when done. Pretty darn cute, if you ask me!

 

So I really should get to some quilting, but it's great to have a few finishes, isn't it?

On the Go

When I saw the Simple Mesh Bag by The Inspired Wren on Pinterest, I thought it was so clever, and ordered some polyester hex mesh on the spot. I decided playing with my little stash of Cotton + Steel would be fun, and the bag was a quick easy sew.

But yeah, I had plenty of mesh left over, so I tried my hand at another bag of my own design. Measuring 6"x9 1/2", it's not perfect, but I kinda like it. One feature of this little bag is that I laminated the fabric you see through the mesh with Pellon's Vinyl Fuse, originally thinking it would be great for a traveling wash cloth and soap, but instead I filled it with my journal supplies. Either way it works. And though the horse fabric is subtle through the mesh, I thought it was still fun, and of course on the back, they're running free!

So of course I had to try again - this time making a "packing cube"-inspired bag. This one is 14" x 16" and turned out larger than I really wanted, but I was winging it - sewing on the fly - so whatever. It still will fit into my carry-on suitcase, which is what I was after.

So there you go - once again sewing up items I could have easily - and maybe more time-effectively - purchased, but now that just wouldn't be the same, now would it?

Christmas Postscript {three}

Pretend briefly that it's Christmas morning and there's a flurry of gift-opening. Instead, a final flurry of project reveals . . .

I'd seen and heard about the Jane Market Bag and boy am I glad I went and found the pattern and tried it. It sewed up like a dream, and I'll definitely be making more. I really wanted to use a linen print from my stash, an Echino Fabric by Estuko Furuya, but realized that it was a border print. Not to dissuade myself, I made it work, putting the birds on the front panels and the dots on the back. Since the recipient is a writer I used  a comma print for the pockets and lining. My favorite feature of the bag is the sewn-down corner seams, though next time I plan on using some interfacing to stabilize the bag. Though sturdy enough, mine doesn't stand tall on its own, and I would really like it too. Meanwhile, I highly recommend this bag - check out the Jane Market Bag flickr group for lots of lovlies.

We gifted my mom with a Kindle, so of course it needed a quilted cover! I had used the Kindle Case Tutorial by Ellison Lane once before so I knew exactly what to do. A floral from Ruby Star Shining seemed perfect as the main fabric, especially once it was straight-line quilted. Luckily it fit mom's Kindle like a glove.

For grandgirl, I started off intending to make the log cabin slippers from Ayumi Mills on Interweave. {By the way, there's Interweave coupons right here.} But they were sized for adults and time was getting tight. So when I came across a toddler's pattern by ithinksew, I kind of merged the two. As a substitute for the grippy fabric that was called for as the soles of the slippers, I used Pellon Peltex wrong-side out. That worked fine, but the final project isn't as cushy as I'd like, so next time, I'll used some fusible fleece in both the uppers and soles. But the cute factor - totally right on.

I wanted to make some potholders for my coworker, and used Jeni Baker's hst potholder tutorial which worked perfectly with the mini charms I had on hand. With Essex as the 'solid' and a layer of both batting and Insul-bright, these stitched up quick and sturdy.

Lastly, I tried a couple new gift bag tutorials in my race to Christmas. Both happened to be by s.o.t.a.k handmade, and I was more than pleased with them both. There was a Drawstring Bag with an easy to install casing . . .

and an altered version of The Big Apple Shoulder Bag, with only one side tie. Here's a few of my fabric-wrapped packages (clockwise from upper-left): Lined Drawstring Bag, a Ruby Star Pillowcase Pouch, a fat-quarter-as gift-wrap, and the Big Apple bag.

Very festive, yes? Now forward to the new year . . .