New Designing Moms Post

This was a fun project "MAKE" post that I did for Designing Moms.
I still need to get it done, but it's something I want to do!

Tote Bag Tutorial

Okay – the long awaited tutorial!
Amy's bag- short straps, exterior pockets, ribbon trimming the open top

What you need to do to begin:
Decide the length (L) and width (W) of your tote.
Decide if you want pockets or details. (maybe try that 1 or 2 totes in… you’ll get it better, if you try it most simply, first)
Pick your fabric and straps.
Decide if you want to hem your tote’s top edge with bias tape (see below) or just have a simple hemmed edge.

CUTTING THE FABRIC:
Ok. So you want a tote that is L” long and W” wide.
You need to cut 2 pieces of fabric (one for each side) that are L plus 2” long and W plus 1” wide (example. For a 12L”x10W” tote, I would cut 2 pieces that are 14”x11”)

SEWING THE BAG:
Now is where you would add in the decorative elements. 1- add pockets for either the interior or exterior of the bag. 2 – Add decorative elements, ribbons, appliqué, etc.

If you’re not doing decorative elements, or if you’ve already done them…
1. place the two rectangles together – right sides facing in.
2. sew around the sides and bottom of the bag, leaving the top open. A ¼” or ½” seam allowance is good. I have a serger and like to serge the edges together for a clean line. Sometimes, I go back over the bags here and topstitch the seams for a more finished look, but again, that’s preference.
3. Add gussets. (this part IS optional, but I’ve found it adds a lot of class) This is the hardest part to explain. I found this great description online of how to make one. I hope a photo will help, but basically, try doing this as you read the instructions and see if it makes sense… hold the sewn bag (still inside out) upside down. Put one of your hands into the bag all the way to one of the corners at what will be the bottom of the bag. If your fingers are all together in a point, you can use your other hand to pinch the bag so that you have flattened the bag in a perpendicular angle to the seams you just made.
(Your bottom and side seam should be in line with each other, kind of stacked on one another) Take your inside hand now to the outside of the project, and flatten what you’ve pinched into a triangle. For your first one, measure about 1” in from the point and sew a straight line across this measurement. (You can cut the remainder off with pinking shears or serge it, like I do) Repeat the same on the other corner.
4. Trim the scraps and turn the bag right side out.
5. Decide if you will hem the top of the bag or turn it in/out… One of my favorite things to use for the top edges is Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape. It’s so easy! Just cover your raw, folded, hemmed edge (or serged, as I like to do) – with the bias tape - There is one side that is shorter than the other and this is for a reason… place the shorter side on the outside (pretty side) of your bag so that the wider side is on the interior of your bag. Now, when you sew the tape to your bag for a nice clean look from the outside – you will for sure be catching the inside bias tape, even if you wobble a little…. Simply genius!
a. Sometimes here is also where I like to leave a raw serged edge, or if the fabric has a cool “wrong side” I will fold it over so that it kind of trims itself. see Aunt Shirley's bag (again, preference)

GETTING STRAPS READY:
The first thing to do is to decide how long you want your straps to be. Do you want them to be shoulder straps? How many do you want – one or two? Are they long enough to hold over your elbow, or just carry with your hand? Decide the length.
I do one of two things for my totes… I either stack 2-3 layers of said length grosgrain ribbon and sew them together with two straight running stitches down the length…. Or I take scraps and fold them many times over until I have a nice hefty strap at the width I want – and then I do two straight stitches down the length. It’s a preference thing.

Aunt Shirley's bag- one long strap, interior pocket, self-folded top trimmed with ribbon, button closure

Now I measure (or just eyeball) where I want the straps to be. I mark, pin, or just remember where that is and begin to sew the straps on, one at a time. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Here is where some creativity can come in. Do you want to show the edges of the ribbon? (I always singe the grosgrain’s edges over a candle’s heat to stop fraying) Do you want to hide the stitching with a cute button? Do you want the straps inside or outside?Mom's bags- short straps, button closures, exterior pockets, ribbon trimming the serged top

And the finishing touches are simple. Maybe you want a button and loop closure at the top. Maybe a snap? That’s up to you. And once you’ve made a zillion of these, I’m sure you’ll have tried every possible way. I’d love to see your totes, so if you use my tutorial, please post a link to where I can see your projects!

Amy R.'s bag- medium straps, exterior and interior pockets, raw serged topNancy's bag- short straps, ribbon trimmed top, button closure

Couch Love

It's done! Couch #2 finally has happy patchworked cushion covers to match it's counterpart.

It was hanging over my head forever, and I am happy to say I am done. (My mom said, "well, now you can work on the main framework" NOT YET! I have to work up more nerve!)

Anyhow - these cushions turned out so much nicer than the first two. I'm really pleased.

I finished the final touches on them tonight while J was taking Zuma on a walk before bed. When he came in, he found me with his camera - attempting to get a decent photo. (not easy at night) He set me straight, helped me get these, which make me super happy and as we were messing with the flash, we started playing with his iPhone and got this last shot. (Ignore my hideous fleece pants, I love them)

Happy Birthday, Aunt Shirley!

My dad's Aunt Shirley is the only person left in her generation in my family. All of my amazing grandparents passed away a number of years ago... but Aunt Shirley, my paternal grandfather (Papa Lew)'s eldest sister is the remaining matriarch of the family.  We don't see her much as my dad relocated to LA before I was born and the rest of the family is on the East Coast... (Brooklyn and Boca!)... but we did fly out 2 years ago for her 100th birthday celebration. Aunt Shirley turned 102 this week!

Dad flew out to be with her on her birthday, which was really special, but wasting away here in pneumonia-ville - we were even a little late with her gift and card. 

Which left me with the question, "What do you give to a 102 year old for her birthday?" And as I thought about it... and packed the box, otherwise filled with drawings of balloons and cousins from the Design Director, a homemade lavender eye pillow, and a card... I decided.... Aunt Shirley gets a new bag. I mean every girl - age 2 or 102 likes a new bag, right?

So here is the bag that I made for my Great Aunt Shirley. (tutorial in the works tonight!)  I thought about ease and springtime and hoped that perhaps she could use it to carry a nice book or letters to some windows to read... Though I know you won't be reading this blog, Aunt Shirley, I hope you love the bag and I hope you know it was made with love for you and all you are.

Today's inspiration: Fresh Air

I love fresh air. I love 60 degrees and partly cloudy (big lofty clouds!) I love sun and shade shadows dancing over my day. Thank you, Lord, for fresh air. It does a million things to me, both inside and out... All of which I need right about now.

New vintage pants for Mimi

The Design Director got these pants when she woke up this morning. Tori is moving across country and downsizing her vintage fabric stash, so we've been gifted with yards and yards of new inspiration... The Design Director loves yellow, and claimed this fabric instantly, so I was happy to oblige-complete with ric-rac trim. I love seeing her in this style.

Home Tour

I love seeing into the lives of blog-writers. It's fun seeing people's homes anyway, but when you get a glimpse into someone's home - especially someone whom you feel a creative connection with, well - that's really great. so in that interest... here is a little glimpse into the life we live here in our little 1922 Los Angeles bungalow. We live in an historic neighborhood, which is undoubtably "edgy" - this is no suburban cul-de-sac - but we love it here and are so happy.
Studio shots will have to come later - considering I still need to wrap my head around what to do with all my scraps! (they're not easy to organize)

Living room. (Before the new chair! I'm also working on finishing the loveseat's cushions this week... will post a photo when I am done) I think I have written before about how much I love the Bachelder tile on the fireplace - it's one of my very favorite parts of the house.

Dining Room. When we moved in, people asked, did you buy the house to go with your furniture? It felt like we did. The closed door is the door you see on the blog daily - where I photograph my projects. My studio lies behind.

Kitchen. It's funky. Open shelves, no dishwasher, few cabinets, original drawers (auckward!) but it's bright and cheerful with a view of the back yard. Someday we hope to update it.... not yet.

Mimi's room. Plenty of light and lots of room to dance. Lots of repurposed and repainted furniture.Master Bedroom. What a lie this photo is. We never make our bed. We used to, but it's no longer worth it with the monkeys around.And there you have it. Our home. Happy. Loud. Crayola. and like the sign over the entry to our dining room says, "all because two people fell in love"

New chair

J and I had promised to buy ourselves a chair for valentines day instead of spending money on random objects... And we finally found it, this weekend at a local upholstery shop that was getting rid of samples...
Hooray!

Pneumonia makes a purse from placemats

I bought these placemats a while ago, with the intention of making myself a tote from them, but when I started the bag today, I got a new idea... The one strap goes through two buttonholes and causes it to self fold... Kind of fresh, I guess... Like the warm air I have been coaxing into the house today.

Pneumonia gets creative - 34 hairclips

Sitting around, sick, tired, with not enough energy even to sew, I decided to make some new hairclips. About 5 years ago, when I was pregnant with the Design Director, I envisioned her coming out like my sister's little one had, looking like our side of the family - with a head of dark, straight hair... as I dreamt of that - I made sweet little hair-clips from ribbon and glue. I imagined sticking them in her downy brown hair and people never having to ask if it was a boy or girl because of the sweet bows and ribbons.
ahem. well, the Design Director came out, bald and as fair as I'd ever seen - with nothing but a tiny tiny bit of fuzz for about 2.5 years. (I'm NOT joking). And the barrettes were given to friends and tucked away until recently... I figured out the other day that a little bit of velcro (the prickly half) on the inside of these makes them stick really well in hair, and now that my hair is shorter, I'm always looking for fun clips...
so ... here's something I can do while feeling awfully weak... using up scraps of ribbon, yoyos, old buttons galore... The funniest part to me was thinking back to when I made the first batch. I remember them taking forever to make - days. And I only made about 10. But this batch was made last night and this morning, while home sick from church... and I whipped them out.
I guess years of crafting can make you faster even at the little things.