Weaving Fabric Strips into a Bag, Part #3

 Woven bag is finished, and it's fabulous!

What a fun project with fun results! This OOAK bag can take you from Casual Fridays to Saturday Night Parties! And knowing its history, makes it even more fabulous!

I have to admit that I slowed down on this project after part #2. The lining needed to be shiny & bright, and I wanted a tone on tone print. However, I couldn't find anything like that in my fabric stash, nor did I find the perfect fabric at the stores. The fabric I ended up with is a basic polyester satin from my local Hobby Lobby. It was on sale and thick enough to be durable.

Ready to cut the lining fabric.

The inside pocket is black velvet with blue fabric trim. That trim matches one of the blue fabric layers woven into the bag, so there is continuity with the design. The pocket had to be hand stitched to the lining because I forgot to machine stitch it in place before I seamed up the side & bottom of the lining. (Maybe next time I'll remember to attach the pocket BEFORE I sew up the lining.)

Stitched pocket, stitched lining & fabric strip for the strap.

Parts of the woven outside needed to be stitched to stabilize the fabric strips. Good old fashioned hand stitching came to the rescue. I felt that necessary since I plan to sell the bag. I believe in making quality products even if it does require doing the little extra steps.

If you're curious about the strap, it's made from a 4" strip of black velvet that belonged to the black velvet skirt (part #1).  It was easy to sew, then I machine stitched the strap onto the outer bag. The next step was to hand stitch the finished lining to the outer bag.

Embellishing the bag excited me, and after playing with buttons, I realized that the embellishments needed to be kept at a minimum and not distract from the beautiful woven fibers. Plastic & metal buttons cheapened the look, and so did this big rhinestone brooch.

Choices...

This brooch is too gaudy!

This button is too garish!

This glass button that I picked up in Santa Fe, New Mexico felt just right. The black circle stripes on the turquoise glass compliment the black & blue lines on the bag.  A few faceted blue crystal beads were chosen for the final touch. Each bead is securely stitched, and the threads are knotted several times to prevent the beads from falling off. That needed to be done because this bag is going places!

Artisan's glass bead & faceted glass beads, hand stitched.

The finished bag measures 9" x 7.5" with a 52" crossover strap. It's fully lined with turquoise satin & one inside pocket, and a magnetic snap closure snaps it shut. The snap is positioned in the middle of the bag.

Bag's interior view.

This bag turned out to be most charming and very, very soft. It's lightweight, but very durable. I can see a bright future for it, and some lucky lady will love all the compliments she receives every time she carries it. She can tell her admirers that it is One of a Kind and that she heard the artist who made it is a legend in her own time. Well... a girl can dream, can't she??? 💕😊💕

Back side of the bag. Cute streamers of yarn & ribbon!

Inside view showing magnetic snap & trimmed pocket.

Finished woven bag with Artisan's glass button... Viola!

@Copyright 2020 Cindy Lou Hodges All Rights Reserved.

Scrap Quilted Denim Bag

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During the holidays I watched DIY videos, and I discovered this fun craft! Basically, I built a rectangular fabric sandwich with two pieces of denim (recycled, of course). Inside I played with small pieces of fabric, layering them in a jumbled pattern. After pinning around the edges of my rectangle, and a couple of pins towards the middle, I machine stitched around the outside of the traced on heart.  Allowing 1/2 inch width, I machine stitched the inside of the heart one time.

Because the interior stitching was curved, I had to pay attention to my needle placement and carefully tug the fabric & slightly spin the fabric with each stitch. So, I decided to make the center of the heart with vertical lines. Good decision. Time to cut between the machine stitched rows, cutting through the denim & scrap pieces. (Do not cut the back lining.) Scratch the fibers to fluff the fringe, or machine wash for more fraying.

Then, I cut out the 6" heart, but added almost 1 inch extra around the outside. That's so I could zig-zag stitch twice around the perimeter (so the edges don't fray too much). It was time to stitch the heart to the bag, but in this case I stitched the heart to the pocket. 💓 Then stitched the pocket to the front of the denim panel. (The left & right side of the heart needed to be stitched to the denim panel. No problem!)

Four inch fringe is easy to add. Just cut it to size. Pin, then hand baste to the front of the denim panel. (Stitch 1/2" along the edge. Note the fringe is pointing towards the middle... very important!)

 

Machine stitch your bag together 5/8 - 3/4" from the edge, right sides together. Leave the hand basted stitches there. No need to remove them.

The outside front after stitching. Note top raw edge.

Time to select interior fabrics. Cotton batik for lining & reclaimed fabric for interior pocket. I love these colors! Cut lining fabric 1" larger than the outside bag, allowing for 1/2" seam allowances.

Pocket is pinned to the right side of the lining, then stitched in place on 2 sides & the bottom.

Turn down top edge & machine stitch.  Turn down top edge of denim bag, 1.5". Press.

Insert lining into the bag. Looking so cute! 

Strap involved piecing together coordinating fabrics to make 57" x 4" strip. Press in half long-ways.

Then fold in 1/2" from edge towards the middle & press. Fold & press both sides.

Fold together, and press. Machine stitch both sides to complete strap.

 Insert strap ends between the lining & outside of the bag. Tuck down about 1.5" (ends will not show). Pin in place. These will be secured when you stitch the lining to the denim bag. Time to stitch around the top of the bag. Leave a 1/2" border of the denim showing on the inside. Stitch around top twice sewing the shoulder strap ends in place. Now for the embellishment. Do I want to add a button?  Which color?  

 

 

The silver tone button adds a new texture & I like that. Look what the chain of tassels does:  it accents all the fringe in the heart & the outside fringe, plus it picks up the oranges & pinks. Perfect & it brings the eyes to the middle!   Forget the rhinestone bling. I want the heart to be the focal point! 

So pretty!

Hand stitched magnetic snap closure. I watched TV while I sewed them on. Pretty surprise with that textured fabric inside!

So, it's all finished, and I am very pleased! The backside showcases the leather tag from the upcycled jeans, and 3 vintage buttons... metal, of course, to coordinate with the front button.

This one will be offered for sale on my next LIVE show on Bling on the Crafts, Facebook! Tuesday nights, 7:00 pm Central.

This project turned out to be such fun, and I'm looking forward to more art creations with pieces of scraps. Guess I'll never throw out any more, never, ever! 😄

Finished bag is for sale... listed in my Etsy shop, Lady Rose Lane...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/768869561/upcycled-denim-crossover-bag-fringed?ref=shop_home_active_10&frs=1


Cindy Lou

@Copyright 2020 Cindy Lou Hodges All Rights Reserved.

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Upcycled Embellished Denim Jacket, OOAK

Upcycled Embellished Denim Jacket with OOAK Fiber Fabric

Once plain, now beautiful!

Playing at the sewing machine turned into a fun project! Using bits & pieces of coordinating colored fabrics, I created OOAK (one of a kind) fabric, then used parts of that fabric to decorate a denim jacket.The stylish jacket has great lines to it with the vertical seams on front & back. Back yoke, collar, front lapels, and front pockets are perfect places to add material & accents.

OOAK Fiber Fabric with fabric pieces, yarn, & fancy stitches.

Where to start? My "new" fiber fabric measured about 20 inches x 20 inches. Turned out it was more than enough for this idea. Good news. Leftover pieces can be used for future projects! Since the back yoke required the most fabric, it was the place to begin. Using pencil & freezer paper, I traced the yoke's outside edge onto the paper. Carefully, I cut out the yoke shape, cutting along the lines.

Setting aside the yoke shape pattern, I used the template as a frame, moving it around on the fiber fabric to find the best layout. Two photos show choices, and I chose the one with the green at the bottom center of the yoke. After deciding where to cut, I pinned the yoke pattern piece in place, then grabbed the scissors.

Placement #1 for yoke, using template.

Placement #2 for yoke, using template.

Yoke pattern pinned in place using placement #1.

The second largest piece was the collar. I repeated the same process as mentioned above. Made a pattern for the collar, carefully cut it out, exposing the template. Then used the template to position a balanced look to the front points of the collar. Pinned the collar pattern in place & carefully cut it out.

Collar pattern pinned to fiber fabric. Ready to cut.

Bottom lapel pieces were next, and fortunately I could find similar sections of fiber fabric. The front pocket accents were the last to cut, and I questioned if they were necessary, but I like the vertical accents there at the waistline. I think it was a good idea.

Pinned on fiber fabric and machine stitched the pieces in place. Used zig-zag stitch.

Yoke piece ready to sew on.

Collar piece stitched in place. Looks really nice!

Then the beading fun began! It ended up that I worked the bead accents very similarly to how you paint a picture. Work in one area with a section of beads, then move on to another area. Work that space, then move to another. Guess I worked on this piece off & on for a week or so. After day five, I thought I was finished so I hung it up.

Back yoke accented with seed beads. Not too many, keeping the front lapel as focal point.

Went back to it the next day and went, "hmmm... I think it needs some green beads on it." Sure enough.... the green added a sparkle & a pop! They say to walk away from your art and return with fresh eyes. This is just part of the process, and they were right!

Bead clusters include square, cylinder & seed beads.

Ended up with a cute, cute jacket that I think is a classy piece! It's not gaudy. It's not brawdy. But it is a beautiful statement piece with original art work in the fabric & bead placements. The added fabric & beads accent all the right places: the front V-neckline, back shoulder area, and a little touch of color at the front waist (placed vertically for a slimming effect).

Note:  All the beads were sewed on by hand, and are knotted every 3-4 beads. Not a task for an impatient soul! LoL

Upcycled Embellished Denim Jacket, OOAK
https://www.etsy.com/listing/681908243/embellished-denim-jacket-beaded-jacket

@Copyright 2019 Cindy Lou Hodges All Rights Reserved.