Pattern Madness

I am so excited to finally publish this blog post! To you dear reader, I recognize that this is simply a blog post on Pattern Madness. For me, this post symbolizes some serious crafting freedom, a major sense of crafting accomplishment, space in my sewing studio, and finally, the opportunity to focus more on sewing and offer some amazing new (and old) patterns. Sewing has always been a passion of mine, and a little over a year ago, for a short period of time before the location closed down, I volunteered at a place called TechShop. It was a large warehouse in which they offered the tools and materials for woodworking, welding, industrial sewing, robotics, 3D machine, and a number of other great stuff to make just about anything your crafting heart desired! I dreamed of learning welding and turning my mostly awful wood working skills into skills that made furniture I didn’t have to hide in the attic when people came to visit, but most of all, my interest was in the industrial sewing section. BEAUTIFUL! What fun for me! I was used to working with a really wonderful sewing machine, and though my pfaff 1122 is quite a super machine for my sewing projects thus far, an industrial machine that sews leather, heavier fabrics and not to mention stretch fabrics was definitely something I wanted to get my hands on! I was in crafting heaven and I hadn’t even gotten in there to start working. Not only did the craft area have a number of sewing machines but they also had an entire wall of shelves filled with pattern boxes. And yes, inside those boxes were hundreds of sewing patterns!

The rule was you couldn’t use the sewing machines until you had been instructed in using the machines, and yet sewing classes weren’t being held regularly and the sewing lady and I were just not connecting time-wise. To make use of the time however, I went through the patterns and there were some immediate favorites for sure! I emailed the sewing woman and asked if I could put together a digital copy of the patterns for her, and also borrow some of those favorites I had found. If I had a collection like that I would want a digital copy, especially if they were now being used in the Techshop for classes and such. Why not make copies and get a digital copy going so people can see what patterns are available without pulling out each and every box down? I figured TechShop probably had an old usable computer kicking around the huge warehouse in which we could access a pattern collection, and since I had already donated one a few weeks ago, we could even use that one for the sewing section. All we had to do was pop in a usb key really when we wanted to see what patterns were available to use. here are a few photos of some of the boxes once they officially reached my house.

I mentioned the digital copy idea to the sewing lady and she liked the idea. I said it would make having classes, and even using the patterns in a library-borrowing status in the future more functional, and so I began borrowing about a dozen patterns at a time and scanning them. When I was there for my 4+ hours each week volunteering time I would scan the front and back of the patterns there as well. I was about 1/3 of the way through the scans when they announced that they were going to close (as in immediately), but the sewing woman was a sweetie and allowed me to hold onto the collection for her so that I could finish the project!

After actively scanning the copies and then making my own copies of the actual patterns, I am proud to announce that I just recently returned the collection to her, and I am as happy as can be! In the end there were 42 boxes and about 735 or so patterns ranging from designer vintage vogue patterns to new womens, mens and children, housewares, pets, and accessories. For now, all of those patterns are being hosted on picassa @ http://picasaweb.google.com/106680090666649009492/SewingPatterns#  (if this link does not work for you, email me with your email address and I will send you an invite to the link). That space will not host that entire collection forever, but if you feel like seeing the pattern collection of a sewing woman crazier than I am, for a little while longer at least, here you have it! As time goes on I will begin to upload my own sewing patterns so the new collection reflects those that I currently have available to me, as the collection I have listed now has recently been returned to her, minus my fabulous new copies of my favorites of course. I certainly did not copy every pattern, but I did copy an awful lot. I couldn’t help it really! I just had too many favorites. In the end, this past week was spent sleeplessly and feverishly copying patterns as the rush was on to copy the final ones I had pulled out and put into my ‘desperately need to copy’ pile! Here are just a few picked at random...

Having access to the collection was a wonderful opportunity for me, and my Sophia clothing shop has been based almost entirely on patterns from her collection, so the potential for new designs is very exciting for me! I will have a number of new patterns coming soon as well so you will certainly have the fun of exploring many of those with me in the near future. As Fall approaches, I have many new items that are needed including holiday dresses, Fall work clothes, and a great deal of outerwear including a Ladies Raincoat (for our Portland Monsoon season!) and a Mans’ full length outer coat. Some highlights to this borrowed collection are a full professional copy of the McCalls 4425 Vintage Sarong Dress, Advance 9279 which is the cutest little Tea Dress (which some women online have also said makes an excellent cocktail dress), and even the Simplicity 1447, which is an asian inspired 1955 vintage wiggle dress pattern!

I will be offering the custom made dresses in my Sophia shop as soon as I have a chance (www.Sophia.etsy.com), and I will be offering copies of the patterns on Craftzies as I have large prints drawn up at the print shop. The McCall’s 4425, as well as many others, will be copies as the originals are so old you want to work with a copy anyway, and this way we can all enjoy them.

Since this collection came to me, not only have I copied countless patterns, but I have also made a number of items from some of those patterns. Not a ton, but a few. One of those is the Tron Dress.

This dress was made from a vintage McCall’s 9707. I felt it turned out pretty well. I originally cut the pieces of the sleeves but found them to be rather small in relation to the size of the rest of the dress and so I dropped them for the first test dress until I have a chance to redesign the pattern for the sleeves. The only real way to see what size a garment truly will be is, and how it fits and such is to make a copy, and this is usually done using muslin or similarly inexpensive fabric.  

I also have The Pearl, and the pattern is offered in a number of styles, but for the test, I went with the natural printed fabric in the style show. Both this dress and The Tron were made out of really comfortable, breathable cottons and are comfortable for hot weather, work and play!

I also have created a number of patterns on my own, drawn from various top, skirt, and dress patterns, one of those being The Victoria, which is the sweetest little party dress, and is made with the highest quality navy blue silk duponi I could find. I love this dress! It comes with detachable shoulder straps, a detachable halter strap, and can also be worn strapless.

And so, on this lovely, relaxing Saturday, just 2 days after sewing pattern lady picked up the collection, I feel fantastic! I feel free in so many ways. A year ago I was presented with a wonderful opportunity from a crafting perspective, and now today, not only did I make some amazing copies of some fabulous clothing patterns, but I now have a new crafting studio that I have, up until now, not been able to work in since moving in last year (!!), but I have also purchased a number of new sewing machines, so now I can sew just about anything! I have a new pfaff serger I have not used, a pfaff tipmatic/ triptonic (a beauty of a machine, hence her name of ‘pretty girl’) and what I have dubbed the Tank, an old all solid metal pfaff sewing machine, vintage, strong, and named as such for a reason! That along with my super sweet pfaff 1122 which just sews just about everything I have put through its chompers, I am all set ladies and gentlemen! I am ready to sew for you, for me, for all of us!!!

 Here are a few new projects I have lined up as we move into the cooler months. My sweetie needs a long wool coat so I figured I would try my hand at that now that I have a decent pattern for an outer coat. Being from the east coast originally, we find that the winters are pretty mild in comparison, however it does get a bit cooler in the winter, it can rain quite a bit when it wants to, and also when he wears suits for more formal outings, a long wool coat that will go over his suits is definitely going to come in handy.

 I also need a new winter coat. I hardly ever wear one, opting usually for a sweater and or a raincoat, or a light casual jacket when I'm running around out there during the day, but when the holiday parties roll around, I always find myself without a nice long coat that will go well with whatever dress I picked out for the event. And it's winter in Portland so chances are it will rain and there I am with the most gorgeous holiday dress...in the rain.

In any event, the pattern madness was super fun and ever so exhausting, but I would do it again in a heartbeat! Last Fall I barely got through the Halloween costume season and didn’t even have a chance really to sew anything for the holidays-etsy shops, custom orders, family or otherwise, so this year I am trying a new approach, one where I get a jump start and keep going so we can all enjoy the holidays, including myself! In fact, that brings me to what I think will be my next blog post, Halloween Costumes. Last year I was pretty open on what I would make for people. This year, I am going to be a little more selective on what I will offer and basically just pick my favorites from last years projects. I already have the Garden Gnome costumes listed in the Craftzies shop to start. In order to make it a bit easier for everyone, I added a Costume category so locating those will be easier when maneuvering the Craftzies etsy shop (www.Craftzies.etsy.com). Until the Halloween post is up, I leave you with something to look forward to! September’s Customer Appreciation Gift Set is going to be a free Garden Gnome Costume (male or female-you pick!) so definitely check over there as we gear up for Halloween! 

For questions on any of the patterns, or even on Halloween costume inquires, shoot me an email @ Craftzies@gmail.com, or CraftZOMG@yahoo.com, or shooting me an email via etsy!

Have a great day & happy crafting! 

With Glue Gun in Hand…

The last few weeks have proven rather busy and the last week in general has been one of the hottest of the season-a very bad time for the a/c to be on the fritz. Since it was a bit too hot to be in the sewing room amidst piles of fabric, I decided to hide out in the shade sipping margaritas and playing with my glue gun and all things glueable. Just a few words of advice before we get started on glue guns though. Be careful, follow the instructions, don't leave the glue gun on unattended, wearing gloves helps you from burning your fingers, and of course, if you are not an adult, find one and go from there. Also, if you are planning on hot glue gunning while in shorts or a short skirt while lounging in a patio chair, make sure you cover your legs because those hot whispy glue streaks can burn those pretty little legs if you are not careful (and you might spill your drink).

A friend brought by a few bags stuffed full of the cutest silk flowers she came across and they happily sat around in the shop while I fussed on other projects, waiting for their purpose to come about. I seem to have found so many uses for them that I had to share and I have even listed a few on the Craftzies etsy shop so if you are feeling tropical or whimsical, looking for a few items for an upcoming event, or even just need a flower fix, I do have items listed in the shop and new items will continue to be listed until all of these babies have left the building.

Here are a few of the hair clips I have made so far. The first two photos below have been left long-measuring at a length of about 7" (17.8 cm). I know it seems a bit too long but I thought they might look cute at the base of the neck holding together a french braid since the plastic frame the flowers are on can be bent on the ends and tucked in. The longer rose clips also give you the option of holding up a bit of hair while also giving the look of a headband when the plastic flower frame is bend slightly to frame the shape of the head. If you don't want the hair clips that long, you can simply cut the ends and you get a shorter version. I didn't make any small rosette hair clips but I have a few of the pink rosettes on a few magnet clips below to give you an idea of how cute the shorter version is as well. 

As I went through the random Craftzies stash I found wooden laundry clips, hair clips, magnets, coconut shells, and sea shells. If you are looking to make some of these items yourself, I would say try looking at a place like the $ stores locally and possibly $ stores online. If  unsuccessful in either of those places then I would say hit up Michaels and joanns, home decorating stores and maybe even etsy? If I find some of the flowers out there myself I might even list them in my shop unglued for all of your creative ideas.

I found that each flower had plastic pieces between the silk petal layers so in most cases I removed those so that the flowers could be pressed down a bit as I glued them. In some cases I found the center piece in the flower to be too bulky as well, in which case I removed it. For almost all of the flowers I glued, I found I needed to glue the petals down a little bit so they would hold their shape. In some cases a petal just needed a tiny dash of glue behind it to hold its shape. The only ones I did not need to glue down in order to hold their shape were the purple rose hair pieces with the small yellow and pink rose buds below. 

For the flower magnet clips I glued the magnets onto the wooden clips, and then I glued the flowers onto the clips. Once dried, I removed any extra little glue strands. They work really well for decorating bags, decorating tables, fridges, calendar save-the-date reminders easily clipped onto the calendar, and a cute way to keep reminders elsewhere around the home and office. And if silk flowers aren’t your style, well, be creative with it. The fun is in the gluing.

And that brings me to the cutest little decorated coconut shell sets, the last of my glueing aventures for this post. I have been saving these coconut shells for a while now and though I had no idea what I would use them for at the time, they do make cute little shells for decorating inside your home and outdoor areas and also for displaying items such as business cards at shows and for photographing jewelry and other small items. The coconuts were washed inside the shells with just a dab of watered down white paint. This isn’t necessary however it does sort of add to the natural look of the shells in that it looks like a coconut milk wash inside. I just took a little paint mixing area such as a baby jar and added a tiny dab of paint and then more water and swished it around with a paint brush until the paint was a bit foamy and then I tested the color on a piece of paper to dab it a little, added a little more water as needed, and then just added a light wash to the inside of the shells. Remember, for something like this, less is more so go light with the paint wash and have a cloth or paper towel and water on hand to dab any off if you add too much.

 

Next I wanted to make a base for the coconut shells. They naturally want to rock and that really bugged me so I definitely had to do something about that. When I originally thought about a base for the shells I visualized something like three little feet that were made of clay or maybe little paper machete feet-something to prop the shells up off the ground a little bit to provide some balance. I wasn’t quite sure at first but as I laid down a few pieces of brown kraft paper onto the surface I was working on (brown kraft paper grocery bag to be exact) I figured I would just try making a base all out of the glue. I added it really close to the center of the base in more or less four areas. I then turned the coconut shell into the brown kraft paper (make sure you have a number of safe layers between the brown paper and the surface you are working on-you don’t want to ruin the counter or table you are working on) and pressed down so the glue on the bottom of the shell would dry into a shaped base.

Once you think the glue base you have just made is dry, peel it from the paper and test it on a flat surface to make sure it doesn't rock. If it still rocks, add a little more glue to the bottom and then press the shell down again and let it dry. If the shell does not pull easily from the kraft paper then you have not let it dry enough. If worse comes to worse and you have added too much glue to the bottom or the little glue stand is just too crooked, simply pry the dried glue glob off and start the process over again. If you care enough, you can also paint the base of the coconut shells brown to enhance the shells or add a small brown piece of felt on the bottom as desired.

Now all you need to do is add the shells and the flower. In the photos I put a little tea light in each shell when I took the pictures, and I included them in the sale of the sets in my shop however because the silk flowers are so big, do not attempt to light candles in the shells if you have the flowers glued on. I have included the tea lights in the sale of the shells online but have included tags so the customer knows the candles are only for display purposes and I have also cut the wicks so there is only a small top piece for display/photo purposes. I have not picked any up since making these shell sets but small LED tea lights will work just fine for lighting a small area without being a hazard so if you do want an actual light in each, go with LED lights. The tea lights are not glued down in case you want to use these for something other than as a little candle display set. I have the LED lights on my shopping list so as soon as I pick some up I will get a few photos up with them lit on the back patio during the twilight hours.

Some of the things glued didn’t turn out all that amazing and others went better than I originally expected. I also made a flower magnet set in which I took 4 silk flowers and glued the petals underneath just slightly so the flowers stayed upright a little more and then I glued a magnet to the bottom of each. These turned out cute however I would say the flower magnet clips worked best as the wooden clip made the magnet more useful in that it could hold up fridge material both by slipping material underneath the magnet and also via the wooden clip. It also proved a better base for the silk flowers and I felt the silk flowers were a little floppy with just the magnets. The clips felt much more useful with the clip than without it too. In the end I felt as though I should have gone with the wooden clip/ magnet combo because you can use it in more ways-clip it onto gift bags, you can use it on the fridge, they’re great for keeping organized at the desk and well, the possibilities seem endless.

So, that about wraps this post up. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know ;)

The Marilyn and Beyond...

This classic Marilyn Monroe inspired halter styled dress is really quite lovely, and the most popular dress in my shop so far. The dress features a full skirt, halter styled bodice, hidden pockets at the waist, zipper up the back, a cute little button at the back of the neck for accent, trim as accent at the waist and a fully lined bodice so you will feel really comfortable as you look your very best ;) 

The dress above is in the classic white color, and features a sparkle waist band with satin trim for accent, hidden pockets, and a diamond button at the back of the neck for accent. This dress has also been made from a cream silk duponi and it turned out really nice and was worn as a wedding dress for a garden wedding last Summer.

The Pink Hyacinth dress above is also a favorite and a nice change from the traditional pink prints in that it has really dynamic orange-pink hues. This dress has white trim as accent at the waist, hidden pockets, lined bodice, and a button at the base of the neck as accent. I currently have one of this dress in stock in my shop as a ready-made item.

I love the soft  blended hues of the Pacific Batik dress shown above. I saved every last bit of this fabric and it is such a nice cool, clean cotton and the batik print...well, let's just say the print is even better in person...if you can believe that! I only purchased enough of the fabric to make one dress, but that dress is currently listed on the shop as a ready-made item.

As much as I love this halter dress, I recognize that the halter styled bodice and full skirt as not for everyone and so I have ventured out to create a new dress that is similar, however a little different for those who need another choice. I have customers from a size 4 to a size 18 that have purchased (and LOVED) this dress so I think a halter style bodice is just a matter of preference and simply depends on the woman. But let's be honest here. A new dress style is like a new pair of shoes..it only makes the day better! And I will remind you all that  new shoes go really well with new dresses. It's sort of funny how that works ;)

Just in case you were wondering, that is my absolutely lovely sister modeling for me in the photos. It’s hard to tell that it was an incredibly rainy day here in Portland when the photos were taken! The fact that the photos for this dress turned out so radiant is truly a tribute not only to the dress but also my sister’s love for this dress. You can always tell when she likes an item because one of two things will happen-she will start to jump around and go play with accessories (anything from purses and jewelry to finding herself a new pair of shoes), or she becomes the elegant princess you see in the photos above, and simply radiates a grace that makes it hard to believe that she was actually born a rather mischievous imp! 

If it goes well I will be carrying the new dress in the shop in the next few weeks! Photos to come…

Until then, you can purchase ready-made and custom items in my clothing shop @ www.SophiaDeLaMer.etsy.com 

Spring Jute Totes

 As Spring is right around the corner I wanted to include a post on the process by which I made my Spring Jute Totes.  These are perfect for friends and family and you can make them whatever size you wish-smaller or larger and they make perfect Easter Totes as well. I made these for a bride last summer and she wanted a total of 6, three in lime green accent and three in hot pink accent. For those of you who don’t know, there are varying grades of jute and burlap is considered a jute, which is a natural fiber. In order to make this project for the woman I purchased about 3.5 - 4 yards of the lightest shade of burlap fabric I could find. This particular fabric was purchased ad Joann Fabrics for something like $2.50/ yard. I ended up dying both the lime green and hot pink pieces as the only colors available other than the natural shades of the burlap were red, black and a very light pink. None of the colors I needed were available so my other option was to dye the fabrics.

Dyeing fabric materials for projects was a new one for me and after consulting with a worker at the shop I decided to go with an iDye for natural fibers. The directions were included with the package and it also required a 10-12 oz bottle of white vinegar. Since I knew I was going to be dying two sets of fabric, lime green and hot pink,  I got a large 32 oz bottle of vinegar for the project. Plastic gloves are also a must have and I used a pair of dish washing gloves for the dyeing process to project my hands. You will also need a bucket or plastic container of some sort that you can mix the dye, water and vinegar in. I found a dish cloth for drips was helpful as well as some newspaper to cover the surface in which you are working, and then a bit more to lay out under where you are going to be drying the wet and newly-dyed pieces of fabric. Just be careful because the dye can stain surfaces, hands, etc. After I was finished dyeing the pieces, I hung them to dry in the sun, pinning them up with laundry pins and I placed paper underneath so it wouldn't stain the surface below. 

As a side note, I find laundry pins to be very helpful on the organizational front, as well as hanging craft projects as they dry so if you have some, hold onto them because we will use them as we craft together in the future. As you can tell from the photo above, I also use them to organize my zippers. A brilliant move on my part as I can finally see what zippers I have available. You might be thinking this is the work of a mad woman, but trust me, after sorting through an entire box of zippers every time I need a specific color, this is an awesome alternative. Who’s the sane one now? Huh?...Don’t answer that!

So, moving on, here is a breakdown the materials you will need for the project:

1)      1) Jute Fabric-The amount depends on how many totes you plan on making and if you decide on going with a trim, you will need less than you would if you decide to dye segments of the natural burlap yourself. See below-Determining how much fabric you will need for this project:

2)      2) Fabric for the inside lining. I went with about 4-4.5 yards of a cream colored cotton for the lining as I wanted it to be as invisible as possible, but as these make really great beach bags, going with a really cute printed cotton for the inside that matches the trim and the sides works well too (see above for amount of fabric needed).

3)      3) iDye fabric dye-1 packet for each color you intend to make.

4)    4)  white vinegar

5)      5) Gloves and a bucket (for dyeing the fabric-skip this is you decide against dying the fabric and opt for a trim being sewn on instead)

6)      6) A rack or rope with clothing pins…something in which to hang the fabric pieces up so they can dry (for the dying process-skip this step if you are going with a fabric trim instead)

7)      7) Scissors

8)      8) Thread-you will need a cream colored thread to match the natural jute color and then another spool of thread to match whatever color you have picked for your dye (I used green thread for the green trimmed totes and pink for pink trimmed totes, as well as a cream color for both), or if you have opted for just purchasing a trim, if the trim is going to require a different color of thread, pick out a matching color. 

9)     9)  Fabric trim-If you have decided on dyeing pieces of the burlap bright colors then you can skip the trim. The amount of trim is determined by how large you want your tote to be. If you are going to a 12” x 14” (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm) tote, then you will need about 80” (203.2 cm) for the sides and bottom on each side, and then an additional 12” (30.5 cm) for the front and back, and then an additional 3” (7.6 cm) for each side, and then about 2-4” (5.1 cm x 10.2 cm) extra to tuck in and under at the end of the seam. So for each tote, you will need about 104” (264.2 cm) total, per bag.

**Determining how much fabric you will need for this project: It’s pretty easy to determine how much fabric you need once you decide if you are going to dye your own fabric segments or if you are only going to go with the jute for the front, back, sides, and handles. For the set of 6 bridal totes I made, I intended for each tote when finished to be 12” in width (30.5 cm) and 14” in length (35.6 cm ) with a 3” gusset (7.6 cm ) for the depth. For each tote I cut 2 pieces of natural jute that were 13” width x 15” length (33 cm  x 38.1 cm ) (the outside front and back of the tote), 4-16”x 3” (40.6 cm  x 7.6 cm) jute (handles), 2-15”x 4” (38.1 cm  x 10.2 cm) jute (sides-outer fabric) and 1 piece of fabric that is 13” x 4” (33 cm   x 10.2 cm) (bottom-outer fabric). For the inside lining, cut one piece of fabric that is 13” x 34” (33 cm x 86.4 cm). If you also want a pocket or two on the inside of the bag then you would cut the fabric for the pocket, and sew it onto the lining. You also need trim, and if you have decided on dyeing the burlap to match the other colored areas, then you will need 4-16” x 3.5” (40.6 cm  x  7.6 cm) fabric strips for the sides vertically, and 2-32”x3.5” (81.3 cm x 8.9 cm) fabric strips for around the top and bottom. As an estimate, you should be able to make one tote that is 12”x 14” (30.5 cm x 35.6 cm) out of about a yard of jute.

So, you have your fabric cut and we can start the dyeing process. Take the dye, water, and vinegar and mix them together in the plastic tub. Follow the directions on the back of the dye mix for the correct amounts and be sure not to water down the dye. If the dye package does not say how much vinegar to use, then I would say a cup and a half will do. When I dyed the lime green it turned out perfect. After I dyed the hot pink I felt like the color was too light so I re-dyed the pink pieces a second time. Take the fabric you cut for two of the handles (I only dyed the top piece of each handle), both sides, bottom, and the strips of extra fabric that are to serve as the trim and dye them, taking care not to agitate the burlap pieces too much. I found that the burlap is at a very sensitive stage with the cut seams and the more I agitated the fabric pieces the more the weave wanted to fall apart on me. 

Once the dyed pieces are dry and ironed with all strands trimmed, we move onto sewing. At this stage, you will want to pay attention to what color of thread you are using in relation to the color of fabric you are sewing. For example, when I was sewing the top of the handles that were either green or pink with a natural colored underside, I used a cream colored thread in the bobbin and used either lime green or hot pink for the top stitches so the thread color would match. You will want to alter the thread colors as needed. 

Then make the handles, and you will take both a 3.5” (8.9 cm) strip of natural burlap and a strip of colored burlap and make sure that both pieces are ironed. Put one piece on top of the other and trim down the sides to 3” (7.6 cm).  Do this with all four handle strips and then for each strip, turn it over and iron down ½” (1.3 cm) under. Next, align one colored burlap piece (edges turned in) up to a natural burlap strip (edges also turned in) and sew both strips together so that the turned in edges are sewn inward. Do this with the other set of two handles as well and put aside. If you decided you wanted a pocket on the inside lining, or perhaps a loop to attaching keys, or magnetic closure or Velcro or something of that nature,  then you would add that at this time to the lining, before you sew the lining in later on. Put the lining aside. 

Now we move onto sewing the bag itself and you start by sewing the bottom colored burlap piece to the front and back natural burlap panels, keeping the seams outward facing. Add the colored sides, again all seams should be facing outward, starting with sewing the bottom pieces on and then sewing up the sides. If, before you add the handles to the top of the bag, the sides look uneven or anything, you want to trim them up a bit at this point. We also calculated a few extra inches for trimming when we measured out the pieces so go ahead and trim around the top and at the outward facing seams around the bottom and the sides as needed. When I made the set of 6 totes I sewed the seams once, followed it up with another seam for good measure, and then I sewed each seam one more time on a zigzag stitch. Just keep in mind that you have that be a narrow zig zag stitch if you can because the trim will be added afterwards and the width of the trim isn't too wide (if you can alter the setting on your machine). By having a narrow zig zag stitch you ensure that the stitching won't appear on the sides out form under the zig zagged seams. I also found the colored burlap was tough to sew with because the weave was weak after having been dyed and all of the seams started to fray so the extra stitches were definitely needed. 

Once all of the seams have been checked to make sure they are completely sewn, then I added the side trim vertically, and then I added the rest of the colored burlap trim all the way around the bottom, and then all the way around the top, tucking in that last bit before you have reached the end. 

Next, you will  take the handles which you already made, and sew the handles to the top of the bag. You can alter the spacing of the handles as you wish but I usually sew each handle-colored burlap facing outward-about 2.25”-2.5” ( 5.7 cm x 6.4 cm) on each side from the middle of the front and back panel. Finally, you will turn the bag inside out and line up the inside lining with the outside bag. If you find at this point that the lining is bigger than the outside shell of the bag, sew the seams up a little bit so the inside and outside panels will fit well together. You also want to leave about 5” (12.7 cm) of an opened seam toward the bottom of one side of the lining. Pin and sew along the top of the bag, and then once more for good measure. Turn the tote right side out via the 5” hole you left in the lining, and sew up that seam. 

You are now officially finished! 

You can now iron on a patch or pin on a pretty flower...feather…whatever your crafting heard desires really! The only other last things I would mention with this project you should be aware of is as tempting as it is to go with a really bright fabric print for the inside lining, keep in mind that a lighter color works best because the burlap tends to be a wider weave and is a bit thin so it is possible that a printed fabric for the lining will be somewhat visible on the outside of the tote. You can modify this however by adding a piece of interfacing or lightweight, light colored solid fabric as a middle layer between the inside and outside pieces of the tote.

Definitely keep in mind as you work on this project that burlap is a bit itchy when you are working on it so I would recommend wearing an sewing apron and cleaning your sewing area after you have finished this project. Also, if you decide to make one tote and have some excess dye, you should be able to save some of that dye in a jar for a day or two in case you need a re-dye or decide you want to make more colored strips.

When I dyed the hot pink burlap strips originally they came out too light and I had to re-dye, but I had to pick up another packed of iDye since I had watered down the first dye lot. It was an easy mistake so definitely be careful not to water the mix down and I would even recommend having the mix be too concentrated as you can easily rinse some of the dye out before you set the pieces to dry. I did this with the lime green and it worked well. I didn’t with the hot pink and I had to spend another $2.80 or so another pack of dye, use more vinegar, and it took an additional day to re-dye and let the hot pink pieces to fully dry again. Also, one more thing and then I am definitely done giving you advice, keep in mind that once the fabric pieces are dyed and dried out, iron them on a scrap piece of fabric. When I went to iron the pieces I found that some of the excess dye stained my ironing board cover. I beat mine up on a regular basis so it wasn't a big deal but if you have a nice one you don’t want to stain it, go with something that you don’t mind ruining. I found a tea towel or old t-shirt worked well for absorbing any additional dye. Spray the dried dyed pieces of jute with a water bottle as you iron them to get the best results.

In looking back on this project I have to say that having dyed the colored jute was a very long process and I probably would go with a trim instead of the colored jute. It turned out well in the end and even  inspired me to whip up some beach bags as we get closer to the warmer months. The itchy factor with the burlap was ...well..super itchy! I don't recommend shorts on the hottest day of the year...while sewing burlap, so if you can cut and sew this project outside with a sewing apron or spare pair of clothes I would recommend all of those!

All for the love of crafts, I know...

Lindsay