February | 2012 | you can do that

My love for felt

Felt is actually one of my favorite things to work with. I will find just about any excuse to incorporate it into my sewing and am hardly ever disappointed with the results. Its cheap, versatile and just plain fun! Around Christmas, I stumbled upon this awesome tutorial 33shadesofgreen.blogspot.com/2010/11/handmade-holidays-felt-wine-sleeve for a felt wine bottle sleeve and I must have made a dozen of these puppies for friends, family, and my husband’s coworkers. It was simple and there are a million ways to dress it up. I loved this tutorial so much I even tried it with cotton but wasn’t thrilled with the results. There didn’t seem to be a good way to cut the hole in the flap that goes over the neck of the bottle and still have it look pretty. The tutorial is perfect for felt and you can even change it up a bit so the seams don’t show on the body of the sleeve but I prefer to show the seams for more of a shabby chic feel.

Here’s a photo of the one I whipped up last night. I used a button kit for the first time and I have to say, loads of fun! Once you get one of these kits, you will NEVER throw away another scrap of fabric! I don’t like to monogram mine because I like the idea of the receiver “regifting” the wine bottle bag.

You can see more felt projects at http://www.etsy.com/shop/KelsCozyCorner

Reversible Bags!! Make one!

The blog has moved to SewFineFabric.wordpress.com Come on over and see what is new!

I’m always looking for new and inspirational projects. And when I’m not doing that I am likely looking for new and lovely fabrics. Thank goodness my obsessions coincide!! Recently, I discovered these gorgeous home decor prints from Premier Prints and could not wait to get my hands on them for the fabric store (http://www.sewfinefabric.Etsy.com). Ordered immediately!

When they arrived I stared at them for a long while…ok days. To be honest I sometimes, in the quiet of night, when the family is all tucked in and cozy, pour myself a glass of wine and stare at fabric. Eventually, I remind myself that I need to stop staring and start sewing. A couple of days later I remembered I had pinned this reversible bag tutorial on Pinterest that would be perfect. So, perhaps, all that staring pays off after all…or at least that is what I tell myself. 🙂

Here is the tutorial:
http://verypurpleperson.com/2010/04/making-reversible-bag.html

It was pretty simple and you can make one too! The first bag took me about an hour and a half of leisurely sewing. As I made more I found that they took about an hour each.

You can find the fabrics I used and more here.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewfinefabric?section_id=11036844

I made a slight adjustment to make turning the bag right side out a little less frustrating. On step 3 I sewed three of the straps up to where she indicated in the tutorial and left one strap open just after the turn. Here is about where she suggests you stop. Do this for three straps.

And here is where I stopped on the fourth strap.

Otherwise, it was too difficult for me to pull the bulky fabric through the incredibly small hole. Perhaps it was because I used home decor weight fabric instead of lighter fabric. Or perhaps it is my “I want everything to be easier” attitude…. This adjustment did not make it any more difficult to complete the bag when top stitching but made it SO much easier to turn the bag. I like easier. 🙂

And of course I couldn’t make just one.