Faux Felt Gift Bag Project by Sew What Designs
This Project utilizes one of my String Art Embroidery designs. This has been digitised to stitch out as a bobbin work design. If you are substituting another design look for one that stitches out as a straight stitch and does not go back over itself too often.
You will need:
1. A piece of quilt wadding double the length of the finished bag.
2. A piece of black stabilizer like “Shapewell”.
3. A piece of black bridal net
4. Fibres of wool and/or silk and/or mohair
5. Yarn or threads
6. Glitzy fabrics
7. Lining fabric – I used a hand dyed piece
8. Cord or braid for handles.
3 and 4 5 and 6
To make the Faux Felt
Lay the wadding down first and the place the black stabilizer on top.
Then arrange the glitzy fabrics that have been randomly cut into smaller pieces so that they mostly cover the black stabilizer.
Tease the wool, silk and/or mohairfibres apart and arrange the fibres and yarns on top of this to make a layer that hides parts of the fabric collage. The idea here is that you are creating “lost and found” shapes
Lastly place the bridal netting on top to hold it all together and pin
The bridal netting is virtually invisible
Next I stitched the layers together using a water soluble thread in the top. The idea was to hold the layers together while I embroidered and quilted the fabric.
Embroidering the Design
I wanted to use a decorative thick thread in my bobbin for the embroidery. I used my Designer 1 with the specialty bobbin case. The tension is adjusted to allow the thicker thread to move through the tension device. For those with top loading bobbins without a specialty bobbin case you can just bypass the tension device. If you have a bottom-loading bobbin you can adjust the screw to alter the tension for thicker thread.
I hooped the small hoop with a wash away stabilizer and placed the faux felt fabric –WRONG SIDE UP and used a Fix to hold it in position.
This photo shows the underside of the hoop when the design was finished. Trim the jump stitches and thread the ends back through to the wrong side.
I decided to embroider the design on the other end of the bag in the traditional way to compare the result. To make a more definite statement with the second design it was stitched twice. Once in gold and the second time in a Maidera Black Jewel. The back can be left plain if you prefer.
When the second design was finished I removed the excess stabilizer re-pinned the and washed the fabric. When almost dry I ironed ti with a hot iron.
Next I outline quilted the fabric using a triple stitch. Added a little free-motion meandering and trimmed the piece to size.
Construction
1. Lay the lining fabric on the right side of the faux felt and place the handles between the two layers on the inside
2. Stitch a full seam on one end and leave a turning on the other end. Backstitch over the handles to secure them
3. Fold the seams to the middle as shown and seam down the long sides
4. Trim seams and mitre corners on both the bag and the lining.
The corners are mitred by folding the corner on the point and stitching at 45o
5. Trim mitres
6. Turn the bag right side out through the turning space.
7. Topstitch the lining over the seam on the right side.
8. Bead the bag and add a bead or button closure
I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did. I am looking forward to seeing these hanging on my tree. They will be ideal filled with a small gift for my friends, or with something special for my family.
Merry Christmas………………….Carolyn
These directions may not be reproduced, copied or distributed without prior permission from Carolyn Duncan at Sew What Designs. Thank you.
