Denim Bag Eco

 I had leftover dead stock denim from sewing Mr W's brown shopping bag. I don't like to hoard scraps, especially denim. It was chocolate brown, I used the reverse for the lighter shade. The lining was from a 2nd hand bundle, dark green to me is "school jumper" so again I used the reverse, now it looks camouflage.

 I ran out of clothes to recycle, and I wanted to make 2 bags simultaneously to save prep work time, so I used another deadstock denim for the grey, which I had in the attic.

I interfaced the straps, top, bottom, and top of lining pockets with light interfacing to prevent stretch. Topstitching and edge stitching in brown.

Recycle - Denim Shopper

2 x Mr W's old jeans (grey and charcoal, 2 x 2nd hand cotton placemats and 2 x cotton 2nd hand napkins for pocket linings, 2nd hand cotton for bag lining. 

I interfaced the handles, bag and top of pockets. As I was using jeans, I had to cut the bag outer in 2 parts with a seam allowance and piece. I topstitched the handles in charcoal Gutermann thread and medium grey for the bag.

I edgestitched the bottom where the box corners meet, but pressed the sides down for a softer look. 

Mr W is going to take this to the craft fair for handmade shopping!

Storage Packs

I made two cotton canvas storage bags the same in the size large. This size fits fat quarters bundles!

Useful and reliable basket weave cotton from Minerva for review - thank you. Both sides of this fabric are pretty similar, so you can make bags without linings, then just bind the raw edges inside, or outside as per the pattern, if preferred.

I didn't have soft and stable, so I used light interfacing for the grey pieces. Instead of a mesh lid, I cut 2 of the bottom panel for each bag.

The lining is seersucker I purchased 2nd hand "1960s/1970s.

I used zip tape and fastened on the endings myself, firstly, a 36-40 inch metal zip is £10 each and secondly, I wanted to make a few bags in different sizes, including navy blue packing cubes for my friend who loves outdoors.

I added a folded in half square of grey canvas as an overlap to the end of the zip, as I cut them too short (pattern advised to hang the zip off the end of the bag, and I had cut the zip tape exact).

There is a video for instructions but I didn't use it as I've made a lot of purses and tote bags, and many bindings!

Now to decide which pattern to use for the remainder of the fabric! It could be anything, craft or clothing.

I used yellow and grey print Art Gallery Fabric poplin for the binding.

Denim Shopper

Mr W's new denim shopper. Tote / shoulder bag made from a deadstock remnant of soft denim, only had enough for 1 bag. The cotton lining is 2nd hand, it arrived with a quilt top made by someone else I purchased & quilted/bound for charity. I interfaced the facings and the top of the pockets, but usually interface the whole outer. I edge stitched the creases.

Checkerboard Baby

No pattern. 9patch quilt made to replace a sunny yellow babyquilt I donated. Layer cake: Moda Coriander Quilts Cosy Up, without the gingham as I used those for a different quilt. 

Backing: Windham fabrics, grey with yellow flowers. Border: yellow thatched Timeless Treasures Fabrics. Binding: brick print Art Gallery Fabric 

Positively Charming

Positively Charming sewing pattern from #corianderquilts #coreyyoder  51 inch x 59.5 inch.

1 day to cut the fabric, pieced a weekend and few evenings, 2 days to quilt and bind. This quilt is cost effective as you can use 1 charm pack or 1/4 layer cake as I did. Mint green is a different change to white backgrounds and I was able to use blue for the backing without worrying about colour run too much (use colour catchers, cool temperature, take out of the washing machine straight away).

Quilting: approx 2 by 4 inch straight-line grid in aqua Glide thread.

Moda layer cake by Sherri and Chelsi 'The Front Porch'. Background and backing #benartexfabrics

Should have used a lower tension with this high loft 2oz wadding, only noticed the tension in the sunlight photos! I will redo part of the binding that waved a little, again noticed in photos.

Checkerboard Baby

Checkerboard baby quilt no pattern (just 9 patch). Fallon sleeps on this every night. A few days to piece, then just 1 day to quilt and bind! 1 Moda later cake, Sweetwater "wishes", which I think is from 2014, had that on the squares I left off. Turquoise polka on white yardage Makower. Binding yellow thatched Timeless Treasures. Backing pink lambs Benartex. Quilted straight-line every two squares and then criss cross through those boxes. I cut the layer cake squares into 3 strips and strip pieced, I cut them 3 1/4 inches and I needed to cut the white with blue polkadot to centre the red. I like the way it created despite making one block (or two blocks with the colour variation). I think it is 45.5 by 53 inches. 

Chevron Quilt

 No pattern / own design. Rail fence technique baby/pet quilt / chair quilt. 2 x jelly roll (I used 1/2 of the colours and was able to make the same print travel per chevron), bumped up the white with yardage. Border added to 43 inch width - so I can fit on 1 length of yardage (quilting cotton is 44 inch). Moda jellyroll an older collection  was 1/2 the price as they are now! Binding is 5 x polkadot strips. Ochre gingham border. Sunflower print backing Benartex. Batting: Hobbs poly down, this quilt is quite thick, sometimes this batting is very thin. Serpentine stitch rectangle grid 2 by 4 inch, I usually do 2 inch grid, but actually this is fine.   *Photos in May.

Recycled Embroidered Placemats Quilt

Vintage embroidered placemats made into a quilt. I had 12 but used 2 for pockets in a tote bag. Then I added fabric scraps I had on stash and yardage on stash, one of the blue-grey florals is 2nd hand yardage. Own design, no pattern.

Backing and binding: Art Gallery Fabric 

Quilting: straight line in Gutermann thread white and Superior Thread cream back

Batting: Hobbs polydown.