Adventures of a DIY Mom

Monday, June 15, 2015

Secret Garden Embroidery Review

The last few weeks, I've had a chance to review a new book called Secret Garden Embroidery: 15 Projects for Your Stitching Pleasure{affiliate link}. Inside are tons of new and inspiring embroidery crafts. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique, fun craft ideas that accompany the embroidery patterns.There are so many projects that I want to make. I would definitely recommend it.

The first project I tackled was the Daisy Chain Bracelet.

I made two for my two little girls. They were pretty easy to make and the girls loved them. Of course I had to add my own touch to them. Instead of french knots for the center of the daisies, I added some yellow seed beads, courtesy of Cousin Corporation.

I learned something new too. I had never heard of waste canvas. Basically, you tack it to your fabric and use it like a counted cross stitch. When you're done you remove the waste canvas, strand by strand. And you are left with a professional, perfectly even stitches.

There are a total of 15 different embroidery projects in the book. There is something for everyone from beginners to intermediate to advanced. Go check it out!

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Monday, June 8, 2015

How to Make a Drawstring Bag - Beginner Sewing Project

These little bags sew up quick and they are ideal for a beginning sewer. If you feel sewing is intimidating, this is the perfect project for you. All the seams are simple straight lines and you only need a few supplies. You can even use fat quarters for these fun bags. I taught a group of 12-13 year old girls how to make these bags, some of which had never sewn before. You can do this too! I'll walk you though each step.

You will need:
12" X 14" piece of fabric
4" X 4" piece fabric for applique
wonder under or heat n bond
yarn
safety pin
scissors
sewing machine
cookie cutter {to use as a stencil for your applique}

How to Sew a Drawstring Bag

Begin with your 12" X 14" piece of fabric.

Fold and press 1/4" down from long 14" side.

Fold and press another 1" on same side. This will make the pocket for the drawstring. For now, unfold the folds.

Fold your piece of fabric in half with right sides together. It should be folded so it's 12" X 7".

Sew along the bottom and side. Leave an opening from 1 1/4" and 1 3/4" from the top edge.

**Now that we're sewing, a quick word about back stitching. Typically when sewing projects you will want to start and end each seam with a back stitch. To do a back stitch you begin sewing for about 1/2 inch. Then reverse and go backwards over your stitching for 1/2 inch. Then sew to the end of your seam and backstitch again. This basically knots your thread so that it won't come undone. **

Clip the corner.

Fold over the previously pressed area - make sure to keep the seam allowance spread open so that you can thread the string through. Yeah....I learned this the hard way.

Now sew along the bottom edge of the top fold, as pictured above. Make sure not to sew your bag closed!

Now let's make the drawstring.

I opted to use yarn instead of cord since I had it on hand.

Cut 3 pieces of yarn 20" long. Knot one end. Braid and knot the other end. Using a safety pin, thread the yarn through opening in the bag. Knot together the two ends of yarn. {I untied the previous knots.}

How to add an applique

You could stop there, but I wanted to personalize the bags a little. I grabbed some cookie cutters to use as stencils.

Iron Wonder Under to a small piece of fabric. Trace the desired shape onto the paper. Cut out and remove paper backing. Place on bag and iron into place.

There you have it, a fun little drawstring bag. These would be perfect little car bags for kids, just put a mini coloring book and some crayons, or little notebook and pencil. What would you use your bag for?