Wednesday 7 December 2011

Bags, bags, bags! (and tutorial links)

Hello fellow Christmas Crafters. This is Andrea from Stitch Parade checking in with an update on my pressie making progress thus far. I must confess it’s been great reading about your own progress and I’ve been inspired by the great present ideas you’ve all had.

With less than 3 weeks to go, I’m about 80% done but it’s been raining cats and dogs in Toronto for days so I’ve not been able to get pictures of all my makes. Today I’ll show you what I’ve got so far in the bags department. First up, toiletries bags for my dad and brother:





I learned to make these bags a couple years ago at The Workroom, a local sewing studio, but the process is super easy and I even fund an online tutorial for you over here. For these bags I was able to up-cycle wool materials from hardly worn trousers I rescued from a friend’s Goodwill pile. I figured the look was manly enough. What do you think?


For the ladies I made clutches using a pattern also from The Workroom. I used some leather scraps for two of them, quilting cotton for another two, and the leftover embroidered border denim from my Ginger skirt for the last one.





All bags, except for the leather clutches, are interfaced for structure, include an internal pocket, and are also lined with contrasting cotton fabric for a fun pop of colour.



If you are interested in making similar clutches I found this handy tutorial here. As an FYI, the frames can be bought from several vendors via etsy.




Hopefully we get some sunshine this coming weekend so that I can photograph some of the other presents I’ve made. Wishing you all days of absolute present making productivity over the next couple of weeks!

10 comments:

  1. Ooh, I love the manly bags! Men are so hard to craft for. I was thinking madras plaid for a bag for a male friend, but the tweed is perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great bags - the boxy bags are definitely manly, and those clutches - wow! I think my favourite is the embroidered denim one - I popped over and saw your adorable skirt - you need to carry that clutch with your skirt, lol! I've seen the website for The Workroom - I think it would be fun to head down into Toronto when the weather is warmer and play with their machines - I wouldn't mind taking a course to learn how to make bags with those frames!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect fabric and shape for the men's bags!!! Very impressive!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the men pouch, great idea I might steal!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the clutches! Off to check out that tutorial right now... :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are gorgeous! I love the manly toiletry bags - fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everything is beautiful! Thanks for the link! I really love the clutch with the big floral (4th pic down) - gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks great! I will definitely be able to use that clutch tutorial, too. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. These are all so lovely - lucky lucky people who get to open these up on the 25th!

    ReplyDelete