Now that the secret's out... some homemade gifts!
My homemade gifts usually have a theme. One year I made everyone microwaveable rice bags, one year aprons, and so on. This year I was excited to make some purses from patterns made by my inspiring sponsor Paradiso Designs. Cheryl has built quite the line of patterns including lots of cute bags!
I tried out the Okashi pattern for my sister-in-law...
Picked a brown plaid twill I thought she would like, and colors to compliment it. Rather than use the metal ring, I created a T-shape made of strap piece to attach the straps.
I put pockets on both sides of the inside, though you can only see one--lots of room for a cell phone, pens, gum... I picked this bag because it seemed like such a great size! And, to sew, it was really simple and fun, but it still has the rectangular base that makes a bag this size useable.
I made the Tiny Bag for my friend. How cute is this little thing?
Again picking colors I thought she'd like, I used a soft wide wale corduroy for the outside. Rather than make my own straps, I bought one at JoAnn and some small D-rings and used them.
The inside is a quilter's cotton, which worked well for bias trim, on the top and on the pockets.
This one has a pocket on the outside back, too.
Can you see the bottom corners? I love the technique for making this little bag have corners.
If you want to try out purse-making, I highly recommend either of these patterns! They're simple, mostly rectangles and such, but the instructions really help you get the idea of how you can make a high quality piece with no tricky, complicated, messy parts... I especially love how all Cheryl's bags have a layer of muslin between the outside and lining fabrics. It means you can make a sturdy bag with whatever cute fabrics you like!
What did you make this Christmas for gifts??
I bought my parents a big anniversary/christmas gift early in December (halfway between their anniversary and xmas), but I still wanted them to have something small on xmas day. I knitted my mom a scarf and a hat for my dad. I also knitted fingerless mittens as a stocking stuffer for my husband.
ReplyDeleteKnitting is great for gifts, I've definitely done that in the past, too! I've never been good enough to knit fingerless mittens, though! I'm bad at reading patterns...
ReplyDeleteThese bags are great I have never made anything with quite as much use, not sure if my sewing skills are good enough for it not to fall apart!
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