Bags of flowers

For my next project I decided to make a bag. I had some beige linen that I wanted to use and then I got some deep purple cotton to line the bag and do a flower to accessorize. I made this bag in a similar style to the first one I made (the red/grey/black one). I did a different sort of fastening for this, with a little flap that went over the top with a little loop that goes through a hole in the flap. I think it may have been better if the hole was a bit smaller, but it seemed to do the trick.
I wasn’t sure how to make a flower; I had an idea in mind but had a little look online anyway to see what was out there. In the end I just folded a length of purple cotton in half along the length and then sewed the open edges together with a wide stitch, then pulled the stitching to gather the edge. I then wound it into a circle and when I was happy that it looked like a flower I hand sewed it into place. Then sewed a button on to hide the mess in the middle, plus a safety pin on the back so that it can be detached from the bag if wanted. Apr 2010

Is it a bird... is it a plane... no it's a top!

I wasn’t sure what to make for my sister’s birthday and decided to try making a top similar to one I have. So I used my top for the main shape of the top, by folding it and drawing around it onto the fabric. This is probably one of the trickiest things I’ve made as I didn’t have much experience of making clothes and I was just making it up. I was pretty pleased with the out come. A couple of things that bothered me were 1) I didn’t attach the straps at the front of the top to the very outside edge of the top (but at least I know to change that if I make similar top) and 2) it looks quite boxy (I did put some elastic in the back to pull it in but I didn't do it tight enough. Plus when the top is on it doesn't look so boxy). Apr 2010