Santoro Fabric Bag Complete

Well I finished this bag this morning, it was sort of complete last night there was just a little hand stitching I needed to complete.  I have really enjoyed making this and feel I may get back into bag making, I did stop because I have a little collection that are unsold upstairs but for myself and gifts they are always appreciated.  The rivets have not arrived so I have left off that detail, I may add a couple later to strengthen where the strap meets the bag when they eventually arrive!
Here it is...

Now it isn't stuffed with anything here so I think it is standing up quite well empty, I will definitely use faux leather in future to strengthen bags.

It is the same on both sides, I was expecting the buckle and claws on the strap to be more silver or at least bronze but never mind.  There was also lots of pulling and straightening to get the folds out of the strap when it arrived but I suppose that it was you get for £3.49, I didn't want leather so there we are.

I made the little charm from a bit of the faux leather, an old key ring and some jewellery making beads and bits I had in my sewing box.  The tassel was a lot longer but I thought it looked too much so I cut a chunk off, I was also unsure how to attach it but I decided on a bit of embroidery thread plaited and stitched in before rolling the tassel.

The piping is just mock, I simply folded over some cord fabric, the only problem being that you don't have a definite width guide to follow.

Inside I have used a leftover bit of cotton from a dress I made last summer, and a saved zip from an old bag.

So in total this project has cost me £7.69.

Materials list

Santoro Gorjuss fabric £3.00 fat quarter from Happy Hare
Black strap  £3.49  ebay
Piece of black ribbon  £1.20 ebay
Cream faux leather;  leftover from an upholstery project for a relative.
Lining; leftover cotton from a dress.
Zips; recycled some years ago when they were unpicked from an old bag.
Mock piping; recycled cord leftover from making a cushion for a friend.
Bag charm; assorted bits from my sewing box ( and a lesson never to throw out old key rings, I have just recalled we got rid of a few two weeks ago when sorting the junk drawer!)

All in all this bag had a lot of recycled items and it has made me think a bit more about the details that make up a bag. Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference and not what we spend on supplies.

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Half Term Makes

I have started my new bag but unfortunately I can't go any further until my ribbon and other bits arrive in the post.  This is very annoying as I am itching to get it all finished, one side is complete and the bottom/sides are on one piece but I need the ribbon to complete the rest. I have had a play at making a tassel which I am going to embellish with beads and bits (I think) it may be a bit big we will have to see.  The lining is ready and I think the leftover faux leather from an upholstery project has come in really handy.  I will share a few pics here of just the cut pieces and lining I don't want to show too much before it is finished.

So the zips I am using are recycled from an old bag and have been in my sewing box a long time, the faux leather was from my mother in law ( I recovered one side of her corner suit with it), the bit of ribbon I had already but I have had to order a bit more and the lining is leftover fabric from a dress.  The only new items bought  for the project are the Santoro fabric (a fat quarter) a strap, a new bit of ribbon and some rivets.

Here is the lining with the recycled zip for the inside pocket.

This evening as I was making curry I thought I would make some little bits to go with it, I have this magazine from 2017 Vegan Food and Living (my only copy) and there is a recipe I thought I'd give a try.

Now I was quite excited about making these and they were quite messy to make too...

Sorry that is a bit blurry, masala dhal vadas, they looked interesting and I didn't have any fresh chilli but went on ahead.  I made two trays of these and to be fair nearly all of them went down well but I would say they were not that exciting and a lot of faff when you consider you can buy ready made pakora, samosa etc for quite a reasonable price.  I'm sure these were a lot cheaper as I  made so many but also messing about mashing potato, making the patties etc, I also covered mine in gram flour too.  So another recipe tried but on this occasion perhaps not worth the effort.

I know mine do not look much like the photo in the magazine but I didn't deep fry mine, I fried them a little in the pan then into the oven to keep warm.  I don't deep fry ever!

While I was cooking I was also watching this video from Handmade by Ditsy Tulip here  she has made some lovely covered buttons but more eye catching than that is her own logo she has created, it is so professional.  If you don't watch her videos go and have a look now, she has some lovely ideas and makes on her channel.   She is currently putting together a dolls house as a haberdashery  and has made some gorgeous mini bits for it, I look forward to watching it take shape.

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Use it up!

I  don't know about you but sometimes when I make something there is a bit left that is a fair size but not quite big enough to get a garment out of.  There is also the issue that as I love my prints so much combining bits of this and that won't really work.  Well I am determined to get down the oddments over the coming year so first up is this top...

Now you may recognise the fabric as I shared the dress a couple of weeks ago, the problem was there was not enough to cut front and back pieces in one go.  To solve this I have added a panel up each side.

I  was a bit worried at first that it may look silly with the pattern not matching but my husband said the pattern is busy you can't really notice it.  There is also a little casing of elastic around the sleeves just to pull them in and give them a bit of shape.

There was no pattern involved for this make I just cut around an existing top of mine, I then cut a round neck with a small slit going down from it.  I hen folded back the fabric to hem and this gave the shape.

Yesterday I met a friend for lunch  and we had a nice walk around Wentworth at Rotherham.

 While we were in the garden centre shop I saw this amazing wrapping paper and I bought myself a sheet.  It is too nice to be ripped off a gift so I will use it to cover a box for storage or something.

The colours are not really showing up well in this image but it has gold in it and a really good weight to the paper.  They had other lovely designs so I will have to keep them in mind for future projects. If anyone has any paper projects in mind that are a bit unusual please share. 

Currently I am planning a new handbag, I have had one in mind since New year but this has changed because today I visited the local shop to buy interfacing and while I was there picked up this gorgeous Santoro fat quarter. So I want to use that now and this has changed my colour scheme, fortunately the cream faux leather I was going to use will go with this fabric too.  As it is half term I will be getting on with that and a few other crafty bits I've been putting off.  Spring must be in the air as I can feel lots of plans coming on for things to make. 

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