Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

March 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

This is a post I actually wrote 3 years ago when a new law was introduced in the UK that required shops to charge for plastic bags.

I’m recycling it because it fits in nicely with the Year of Bunting!

For making the bunting tote bag, I’d recommend using a strong fabric, like a heavy weight cotton. The canvas I used was left over from some curtains I’d made, and the appliqued bunting from scraps of cotton from dresses and other things.

If you don’t have any canvas, you might have an old tablecloth or some curtains you could use.

If you’d rather use a lighter cotton or polycotton fabric, you could line it to make it stronger, or just decide to use it to carry bread and flowers instead of potatoes and gallons of milk!

The bunting tote bag has boxed corners, which means that depending on what you put it, it should stand up.

How to Make a Bunting Tote Bag

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric. Good dimensions would be the same width as a Lidl bag (or other bag for life) and twice as long, plus seam allowance. Mine measured at 48 cm x 120 cm.

If you are using fabric with a directional print, cut 2 rectangles and sew them together.

2. If you do not have an overwhelming urge to cover everything in bunting, you can skip this bit and go straight to Step 3.

To make the bunting, cut a rectangle 9 cm x 10 cm. Fold in half lengthways. Cut diagonally from the folded corner to the corner opposite. Use this triangle to cut 5 triangles. Position them onto the fabric, allowing for seams. Pin in place, then applique them to the fabric. Sew a piece on of ribbon so that it covers the tops of the triangles.

3. With the right sides together, pin the side seams then sew them up. Trim the seams. Finish the seams with zigzags, or an overcasting stitch if you don’t have an overlocker. This could be the difference between getting all of your shopping home and the bag breaking and veg and milk and stuff ending up all over the road!

4. To make the boxed corners, press firmly on the fold at the bottom. Squash one of the corners flat so that the seam is aligned with the fold at the bottom. Measure up 6 cm from the corner. Pin. Sew across the corner. Cut the corner off. For more detailed instructions for making boxed corners, visit this tutorial here.

5. Hem the top of the bag.

6. To make the handles, cut 2 pieces of fabric 40 cm long and 10 cm wide. Fold in half lengthways. Then fold the outer edges into the middle. Fold in half and pin. Sew. I like to sew along both edges so that it looks symmetrical. Repeat for the other handle.

7. Sew the handles to the bag. You will need to sew them on in a few places to ensure that they stay on when the bag is full of shopping.

Now all you have to do is remember to take it with you when you go shopping!

Tips

Heavy weight fabric will be strongest, but other fabrics can be made stronger by adding a lining.

Ripstop will make good bags that are both strong and waterproof.

You could make bunting tote bags in different sizes.

Decorate them as you like to jazz them up.

If you will be carrying your shopping a long way, add some wadding to the handles and quilt them to make them more comfortable.

They make great last minute Christmas gifts and are a good way of using up fabric that you don’t know what to do with!

DIY Embroidered Christmas Star

December 19, 2018 · 2 Comments

DIY Embroidered Christmas Star

When I was younger, I did a lot of Christmas crafting. I used to make cards and decorations and bake stuff.

Then I had kids and everything changed! I’d plan to make lots of things, then feel frustrated and annoyed that I hadn’t managed to get them done.

One year I tried to get round the fact that I had several tiny children by starting early. I was making stuff from August onwards. But because I’d been thinking about Christmas for so long, by the time it eventually came round I was sick of it!

So a couple of years ago, I made the decision to not worry too much. I’d do a bit if I had time and if I felt like it, and not attempt anything too ambitious. There is a limit to how many decorations I can hang off the tree anyway and I don’t send that many Christmas cards.

This year has been different again. Home educating my younger three means that I have boys at home in the day again. As they were showing signs of needing a break from the academic stuff, we spent most of last week doing Christmas crafts while listening to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. It was lovely!

One “grown up” thing that I’ve been working on recently is an diy embroidered Christmas star.

It’s made from felt with a snowflake design embroidered in the centre. The stars are sewn together using blanket stitch.

It’s a perfect project for a busy person who’s left things a bit late! It doesn’t take long to make. You can do a bit when you have a minute. You can make one, or a few and string them together. And to make things easier, you can download a template with the snowflake design at the bottom of the post.

How To Make a DIY Embroidered Star

You Will Need

Felt
Embroidery thread
Ribbon for hanging
Star shape
Snowflake design

Making the Star

1.Cut 2 stars from felt.

2. Embroider the snowflake design onto one of the stars.

3. Sew the 2 stars together. I used blanket stitch, but you could use back stitch or running stitch if you prefer.

4. Attach some ribbon or twine for hanging.

If you would like the template I used, please enter your email address in the form below. Please note that by doing this, you will be added to the Tea and a Sewing Machine email list. I never send spam, only a weekly email containing updates, links, and other things that you might like. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time. For more information about why I do this, please click here.

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How to Turn a Jumper Into a Cushion Cover

December 7, 2018 · 2 Comments

How to Turn a Jumper Into a Cushion Cover

My husband turned 40 earlier this year, and among the presents he was given was this.

Bearing in mind that his birthday is in May, and that he never wears anything like this (he’s 40, not 80!) it was a case of politely saying thank you and then wondering what to do with it.

He was never going to wear it, but giving it away or throwing it out seemed wrong. After all, the present giver had remembered that it was his birthday and had gone to the trouble of getting him a present. They probably meant well. It was probably not a joke.

So as an alternative to offloading it onto a charity shop and then feeling guilty, I decided to turn the jumper into a cushion cover.

It was very quick and easy to do, and is a solution not only for unloved birthday presents, but also for old clothes once worn by people who were very much loved.

Keeping clothes in one’s wardrobe that used to belong to people who have since died can cause space issues. Turning a favourite jumper into a cushion cover is a way of keeping memories and little bit of that person still in your life. It could work equally well with old shirts too.

There are lots of ways to turn a jumper into a cushion cover, but I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. I also wanted to keep its jumperiness. The buttons have stayed, as have the pockets. Actually, the buttons made things easier because they serve as the opening for the cushion pad, and the pockets are useful for keeping things, like ear buds or sweets for later!

Instructions

You Will Need

A jumper
A cushion pad (you could upcycle an old cushion or synthetic pillow. Instructions for doing this can be found here.)
Usual sewing supplies

How To

1. Cut the top part of the jumper off, underneath the arms.

2. If you need to, pin the button bands so that the button holes are not pulling on the buttons.

3. Turn the jumper section inside out.

4. Decide where the seams will be. I wanted the cushion cover to be squareish, so I decided to resew the side seams about 4-5 cm away from the original seams. This was as close as I could get and keep the pockets as they were. Sew the seams and trim them if necessary.

5. Sort out your cushion pad. You might have one already that you could use. Alternatively, an old pad or a synthetic pillow can be given a new lease of life if it’s washed, dried, and then pulled apart and fluffed up. There are instructions for doing this here.

6. Turn the cushion cover the right way out. Put your cushion pad inside its cover and enjoy your new cushion!

In the interests of being real, here’s a picture of my new cushion with its cushion friends and some mess. The pad of the reindeer one went weird in the wash and I haven’t sorted it out yet!

Winter Circle Skirt Tutorial

November 24, 2018 · 4 Comments

Winter Circle Skirt Tutorial

After successfully managing to lose some weight, I’ve ended up with a wardrobe full of clothes that don’t fit, and the perfect excuse to make some new clothes for myself!

Over the summer I made several new things, and by the end of August, I could manage a week of pretty vintage style dresses and skirts.

Unfortunately, the end of summer meant putting the pretty things away and going back into things that were decidedly baggy and, in some cases, actually falling off.

So I’m now in the process of making some winter outfits for myself. I now have a lovely blue dress with appliqued flowers on it, and a couple of weeks ago I made myself a winter circle skirt.

I love circle skirts and the last one I made was from a duvet cover! This one I’ve made from some lovely wool plaid as cotton duvet covers aren’t warm enough for winter!

Circle skirts are fab, and here’s why:

They’re easy to make. Although there is a zip which I know might give some of you the heebie jeebies, there is an easy way to put them in. If you’re still terrified, you could use a button or ties instead.

They are quick to make. Once you’ve made one or two, you’ll be able to knock one out in an evening easily. You could even make several at once as there’s nothing especially complicated about them and apart from the waistband, the bits are all the same.

Fitting is easy. As long as it fits around your middle and it’s the length you want, you don’t need to worry! And if it turns out to be too long or too short, that’s easy to fix. Either cut a bit off or add an extra bit of fabric, a frill or some broderie anglaise.

They look lovely on most people, regardless of body shape. There’s no gathering, so no extra bulk around areas you might not want to draw attention to.

They’re lovely and swirly to wear, and if you’re in a foofy kind of mood, you could wear a petticoat or add some circles of net underneath.

They’re the kind of thing that will work equally well whatever fabric you use. Personally I’d avoid stripes and big prints, but I can imagine them working if you match the patterns. I’ve made them in cotton prints, jersey, plain fabric, duvet covers, taffeta, chiffon, tulle and now wool plaid.

You can wear pretty much anything with them! A t shirt, cardigan, blouse, jumper, or a vest will all go.

So given that I love circle skirts and that I knew I could make one in the limited time I had, a winter circle skirt was an obvious choice!

How to Make a Winter Circle Skirt

You Will Need:

Warm fabric for the skirt, like a wool blend. Depending on your measurements and on the width of the fabric, you might need a couple of metres, or it might be 3 or 4. So check your measurements first!

Fabric for the lining

A 20 cm zip

Bias binding

1. Take Your Measurements

First of all you’ll need to measure your waist and decide how long you want the skirt to be.

When measuring yourself, let the tape measure rest gently where the skirt will sit. Don’t be tempted to pull it too tight! We’d all like those numbers to be a bit smaller, but being able to breathe is more important!

Jot down your waist measurement, then add 10 cm for seam allowance and ease. If you are planning on cutting 2 half circles instead of 4 quarter circles, you’ll only need to add 6 cm.

When it comes to length, 62 cm is a good length for most people. A skirt of this length will come to just below your knee if you are of average height. If you are either very tall or very small, or if you want a skirt that is longer or shorter, you’ll need to measure yourself.

The easiest way to do this is to dangle the tape measure upside down. When the the end is where you’d want the hem to be, make a note of the number at your waist.

2. Working Out the Squares

You’re going to be cutting the skirt pieces out from squares, so the next job is to work out how big the squares need to be.

You already have some of the information because you’ll have worked out how long you want the skirt to be in the previous step. What you need to work out now is the distance from your waist to what will be the centre of the circle.

The easiest way to do this is to take your waist measurement plus the extra cm for seams and ease, and divide it by 3. Then divide the answer by 2.

Add this to your desired skirt length and this will tell you how big the square will need to be.

3. Cutting Out

The Skirt

Now you can cut the bits out! If you prefer, you can make a pattern piece which might make things a bit quicker if you decide to make another winter circle skirt. I don’t usually bother, partly because I know I’ll forget where I put it!

Cut 4 squares of fabric with each side being the same length as your desired skirt length plus waist divided by 3 divided by 2.

If you are fairly slim, you might be able to cut out half a circle by folding the fabric in half widthways.

The thing to remember is that for your winter circle skirt to hang properly, the grain needs to be running up and down the centre front and back.

Choose which corner will be the top of your skirt. Using pins and a tape measure, start at one side and mark off your desired skirt length plus waist divided by 3 divided by 2. Measure across the skirt to the other side, keeping one end of the tape measure at the top corner.

Go back to the top corner and one side, and this time mark off your waist measurement divided by 3 divided by 2.

Now cut out where you have pinned. You should have what looks like a quarter of a doughnut.

You’ll need 4 of these!

With cotton fabric, it’s possible to cut out all 4 quarter circles together, but if you’ve chosen something thicker for your winter circle skirt, it’s probably safer to cut them out 2 at a time.

The Lining

Cut the lining out in the same way. Just make your overall length 10 cm shorter.

Cutting Out the Waistband

Cut a piece of fabric the same length as your waist plus a bit extra, and 10 cm wide. You might have to cut 2 pieces and join them.

4. Sewing the Skirt Pieces

If you’ve ended up with 4 quarters, sew the front and back sections. If you cut 2 half circles, you can skip this step!

Take 2 of the quarters and pin them, right sides together, along one of the straight edges. These straight edges should have the grain running up and down.

Sew, then trim the seam. Press it open.

Repeat with the other 2 pieces.

5. Sewing the Side Seams

If you have some safety pins handy, you might like to use those instead of pins. This is a tip from Julie of Sum of Their Stories and it definitely beats jabbing yourself with a pin!

Pin one of the side seams near the waist. Put the skirt round you and pin the other side. You might need to adjust the pins a bit so that the seams on each side are the same.

On one side, mark where you have pinned with a pencil or tailors’ chalk, then unpin it. Take the skirt off and repin the side seams. Sew both seams. Trim and press the seams open.

6. Making the Lining

If your lining sections are in quarters, sew them together to get a front piece and a back piece.

Pin the front and back sections together, using the skirt as a guide for the side seams. Sew the seams, trim and press.

7. Installing the Zip

Sewing the zip to your winter circle skirt is much easier if you sew the lining to the skirt first!

Make sure that the side seams are matched up, then sew the lining to the skirt a cm (1/4 inch) or so from the waist. You can do this either by hand or on the sewing machine.

I decided to sew the zip on top of the lining because it’s easiest. If you’d like a neater finish, you could sandwich the zip between the lining and the skirt instead.

Using the zip as a guide, unpick some of the side seam of the lining.

Pin the lining to the skirt at the bottom of the bit you unpicked. Check that the unpicked bit of side seam of the lining is matched up with the side seam of the skirt.

Now pin the zip over the unpicked lining seam and the skirt seam. Tack the zip in place, checking that the teeth of the zip are over the seam.

Sew the zip. This is easiest with a zip foot, but you can still do this if you don’t have one.

Now unpick the part of the skirt seam that’s covering the teeth of the zip.

When sewing the zip, it’s easiest to start some way down from the zip pull. When you’ve unpicked the seam, move the zip pull down into the bit you’ve sewn already, then sew the top of the zip.

8. Making the Waistband

If you need to join the pieces of your waistband, do that now.

Fold the waistband in half lengthways and press. Your finger will probably do! If not then use the iron.

Open it out, then fold the long raw edges into the centre. Fold it in half lengthways again and press, with your finger or with the iron.

Unfold the waistband. Pin one of the long edges to the waist of the skirt on the wrong side. The waistband needs to be face down, so that once you have sewn it to the wrong side, you can fold it over the raw edges using the creases you pressed into the waistband earlier.

Sew the waistband to the skirt, keeping close to the folded edge. Leave a couple of cm either side of the zip.

Now fold the waistband over to waist of the skirt. Tuck the raw edge of the waistband underneath so that all the messy bits are enclosed.

Topstitch around the waistband.

When you get to the zip, tuck the ends in and sew.

9. Finish the Hems

The easiest way to finish the hem on your winter circle skirt is with bias binding.

As it’s going to take quite a lot, it’s best to leave it on the roll. Starting somewhere inconspicuous (A side seam is a good place), pin one end of the bias binding to the skirt on the right side, so that the right sides are together.

Sew the bias binding to the skirt, keeping close to the folded edge.

When you get back to where you started, overlap the ends of the bias binding by a cm or two and sew over them.

Fold the bias binding over so that it’s all on the underneath of the skirt. Press it, then sew the bias binding to the wrong side of the skirt, keeping close to the other folded edge.

Finish the hem on the lining in the same way.

Trim away any stray threads, run the iron over it and your winter circle skirt is ready to wear!

Christmas Embroidery Project With a Free Pattern!

September 28, 2018 · 5 Comments

Christmas Embroidery Project

Although I love Christmas and making things for Christmas, over the last few years I’ve given up on the idea of making masses of stuff specifically for Christmas.

It’s just too busy! And it has a habit of sneaking up on me. I know the date never changes, but by the time the Season of Birthdays is over (my boys’ birthdays are all in the autumn, in the space of 2 months!), we’re halfway through November. By the time I’ve got my act together, it’s December, there’s Nativity plays, shopping, present wrapping, baking and everybody’s tired!

Having a little Christmas embroidery project is a nice thing. It’s something you can pick up when you have a few minutes. You can work on it in the evenings without people complaining that they can’t hear the telly over the sewing machine! And if it’s a little thing, it’s going to be achievable and you’ll feel pleased when you’ve finished it. With a longer project, if you don’t finish it by Christmas it’s just going to end up in the UFO pile and you’ll feel annoyed with yourself (I do!).

So I’ve got a little Christmas embroidery project for you!

You can download the pattern here.

And here are the instructions!

Christmas Embroidery Project Instructions

1. Transfer the design to your fabric. There are a number of ways of doing this. The easiest way is to use dressmakers’ carbon paper (affiliate link). You could also use a light box (you can make one yourself using your phone and a plastic box), or you could try printing directly onto the fabric using your printer. If you do this, it’s best to tape the fabric to a piece of card first.

2. Embroider the letters. Start off by sewing them all in backstitch. To get the calligraphy effect, identify the bits of the letters that would be downstrokes if you’d written them. Add an extra line of backstitch to those bits.

3. Now sew the tree. Work each line in backstitch. Then go back and add the leaves.

4. It’s up to you how you’d like to do the star! I sewed around the edge in backstitch then added some French knots to the centre. You might like to try leaf stitch or satin stitch.

To finish it off, wash it in warm water and washing up liquid. Rinse it, then let it dry flat. Iron it on the reverse. Then decide what you’d like to do with it. You could put it in a frame or you might prefer to display it in an embroidery hoop.