EMBELLISHED TOWELS

A few of my latest creations..
An embroidered towel.. The embroidery has been done on white linen and then attached to the towel ..Embellished with contrasting border panels, lace and ribbons.. Simple lazy daisies,french knots, stem and satin stitches used..

White towels with quilted strawberry tops and frills along the edges.Can be hung from towel hook using the ribbons drawn through the eyelets at the top..As well could be hung from a towel rod the way we usually do . Back view of the towelsA few strawberry pin cushions I made using the left over red fabric .The leaves were then stitched with DMC green pearl cotton.. The white spots are in seed stitches and in a few,in french knots. So yummy and juicy !! Aren't they?I adore them a loooot!!
Hope all my friends too had a creative week!

Thank you all so much for your kind support and encouraging comments..

Wishing you all a rocking week end!!

Until next time,

warm regards from,Mini

TUTORIAL FOR BOTTLE HOLDER FOR TOTE BAGS

I have been asked by my friend Pearlin,to give a tute on how to make a bottle holder that I usually attach to the interior of all my bags..Seam stresses who are into bag making will definitely benefit from this tute.Most of us carry at least a small water bottle with us in the bag whenever we go out shopping...Chances are that a little leakage can happen and things inside can get spoiled.. Here's a way to make the bottle stand upright thus reducing the risk of leakage..( don't blame me if you don't close the lid properly!:):)...)

Here it goes..Its very simple..Once you get the hang of it its gonna be a piece of cake!!..

Cut a long strip of fabric, 2 and a half inches wide and 34 inches long.....the smaller piece in the picture was meant for another purpose ..I forgot to remove it while taking the snap..so pls ingore the smaller one.. fold the strip lenghtwise into two and sew along the raw edge..

Attach a safety pin to one of the shorter edges and push it inside with the help of the pin...
as you reach the other end you can see the right side coming out with the pin at the end..
here it is completely out.remove the pin.
iron the strip to flatten it out and insert a long piece of elastic through one of the open short edges..bring it out at the other end.
tie the two ends to form a circle of a small diameter(about 2 inches will be enough).. .. the idea is to make it smaller than the circumference of a half liter water bottle.this will help hold the bottle in place upright...make the knots twice so that it is strong enough. push the knot inside so that it will not a be hindrance due to bulk while attaching to the edge of the lining later in the bag making procedure.
attach the raw edge of the elastic ring to the side of the interfaced lining with a pin and sew a few times and its done..(see the pic below)

A small tip for you:--We want the bottle to stand upright ..so it should have a support from the bag bottom as well as from the side ring...(you can see how it stands upright on the ring thus made , in my previous post on Vintage inspired bag'..)but for the support from the bag bottom,the bottle should be touching the bottom of the bag..for this purpose, before attaching the ring onto the lining, lay the lining piece flat on a table...Lay the bottle on the lining(perpendicular to the bottom seam of the lining) so that its bottom lies just in line with the bottom seam of the bag...Then mark the position of the ring a little above half way up the side seam of the lining...You may now sew the ring's raw tips onto the lining..Now the bottle will be getting support from the side as well as from the bottom.. Hope my tute makes some sense.. Its the first time I am attempting at one.. If you have any doubt pls don't hesitate to write to me and ask.
With warm regards, Mini

VINTAGE INSPIRED TOTE BAG

Interior having zipper pocket,bottle holder, key bunch holder etc..my new linen mobile pouch with rose flap can be seen lying at the bottom..
Back Side of the bag
The bird panel

A closer view of the bird panel highlighted with stem stitch and beads.Single strand for the body and double strands for the leaves and tail feathers.
Bottom side of the bag I had some vintage checkerd fabric with me with which I wanted to sew something that would be cherished forever..I had madly fallen in love with a bird panelled fabric I had purchased from my fav textile shop waiting to occupy the focal point of some vintage project.. I cut out the panels and started planning to attach them to various projects like cushion covers and finally for a change on this bag which I had decided to sew with the checkerd fabric.. The panels for both the sides were made slightly stiff using light interfacing and then attached to the center using simple machine zigzag.The lace on the top and bottom edges of the panel had a vintage look which I found to be pleasantly coordinating with the colour scheme.The bird and the leaves were then highlighted using simple stem stitch all along the body and tail feathers..A few beads adorn the crown on the panel.

The interior has plenty of pockets, this time a little too deeper than the usual size.. Plus a bottle holder, key bunch/mobile pouch holder and zippered pocket..The bag is with a top zipper which was my first attempt ..The tute I followed was simple enough and well illustrated..http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=85354.0 But I went wrong on a few things..I should have cut the interfacing and batting a few cms smaller than the outer and inner fabric..Mine were as big as the size of the fabrics ..This made me have a tough time ,with the sewing of the upper edges of the outer and lining fabrics at the top,due to bulk..Top zipper panels had to be sewed onto the lining fabric before attaching the lining to the outer one...Hence the extra thickness on the lining top edge..For my previous bags I used to follow another method that is commonly referred to as the birthing method:) for which this much thickness never used to creat any problem while assembling .But in this method for this top zippered bag,too many layers were to be sewed together.So I should have taken care to avoid extra bulk...Result?I broke two of my machine needles and a lot of seam picking and re sewing!! Finally, some how managed to finish it and ......heaved a deep sigh..humm!!..

The narrow sides of both the front and back sides have been quilted to make the bag sturdier..

Anyway am quite happy with the first attempt on top zippered bag even though I had hell of a time with the last step ...

Friends thank you all millions for taking a few moments of your precious time for visiting my blog and posting such lovely and encouraging comments!!Hope you will get inspired too..

Until next time
Happy sewing moments!

Warmest regards ,Mini

PILLOW CASES WITH FRENCH SEAM

SOME PILLOW TALK ;....:)))

Purchase of a couple of new pillows actually challenged my collection of pillow cases that were too small to fit into them.. Hence I had no choice but to sew a few of queen size...I have never sewed even simple pillow case before..But wanted to create new patterns unlike the ordinary ones we usually see in stores...It was then that this youtube video of Aimee Griffin of http://www.overallquilter.com/ came to my rescue.. Her presentation was so interesting that anybody would feel like searching their stash and start sewing a pair instantly.....It was fun selecting the fabrics and fixing attractive combos ...Believe me,the rolling method in the process is too interesting to resist.. Hope all of you will be inspired by her video!!

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j06WzmN7KI&feature=related



As she directed I have sewed them using french seams that have made them free from fly away hairs of threads!Hence the insides of the cases are as neat as the outsides ..She used a four and a half inch accent piece while i used a two and half inch piece.. For two pairs I even tried with a two inch accent piece.. So its upto personal preference..Here are a few I sewed following her simple instructions.
The two pairs seen below have been made with two inch accent pieces



A pair of cases with body made of satin smooth soft printed cotton in combination with shaded dark olive accent pieces(two and a half inch) and shaded fanta orange sleeves..

A couple of pairs of Christmas Themed Pillow Cases..I know its much ahead of next Christmas season.. But couldn't resist sewing a few using this lovely bright Poinsettia fabric.


Get Inspired !!:)

Until Next Time

With The Warmest Regards,

Mini..

SAPPHIRE BLUE FABRIC TOTE BAG

Another quilted tote bag in sapphire blue colour..There are plenty of pockets inside on the lining...The sapphire blue part of the bag is divided into two compartments to serve as pockets both in the front and the back ...The Accessories include a draw string pouch for carrying pearl strings,a make up kit,mobile case,eyeglass cum pen case,passport holder,etc.All of them are quilted for more sturdiness.