Fabric Storage Bin

I went to a ladies bric-a-brac sale at the weekend and the stall at the entrance was doing a very brisk trade soI decided to have a look. Basically the were selling fabric Storage Bins of off sizes, I thought they were fun but, expensive. I was sure that they couldn't be that difficult to make and that I had all I needed already and I was right.

This storage bin took about 3 hours to make from working out how to do it and finishing it and was made from scraps and leftover material I already had. It's measures 25cm across, just right for keeping my knitting in - a felted bag which I'll share with you at a later date.

You can make them any size so I'm not going to put the measurements in but how to work out the sizes of the 2 pattern pieces you'll need:

Pattern Pieces

The Base: a circle, measuring Xcm across (in this case 25cm)

The Side: a rectangle: side 1, measuring the desired height including (in this case 30cm) turnover. Side 2, measuring the diameter of the base x 3.14 (25 x 3.14=78.50cm)

Material

Exterior material, cut 1 x base, 1 x the side rectangle
Interior material, cut 1 x base, 1 x the side rectangle
Interfacing, cut 2 of each. - I used a fairly heavy weight interfacing, to help stabilise the sides

Instructions:

Cut out all the pieces and iron on the interfacing on the wrong side of all the pieces. Starting with the exterior material, with right sides facing sew down the side seam and clip back the interfacing. If you don't it might get a bit lumpy and thick.

Carefully pin the base to the tube, again right sides together, you might find it easier to tack (loosely sew) them together before slowly and carefully sewing the pieces. Clip back the interfacing and snip small v's into the edge of the circle being careful not to cut into the stitching.

Repeat with the interior pieces.

No put the 2 pieces inside each other, right sides together, lining up the seams and sew the top of the storage bin together leaving a gap so that you can turn it the right way round.

Don't forget to clip the interfacing back before you turn it the right way round, once you've done that top-stitch the top edge. This also closes the gap in the top seam. Don't be tempted to miss the top-stitching, it really makes a difference to the finish of the whole thing.


Enjoy.

Amy Butler Bag

So I've had a lovely book sitting on my shelf for weeks, a book of Amy Butler bags with patterns and instructions and everything. The thing is it scared me, I love sewing, knitting and craft in general but, AB bags are soooo gorgeous I daren't even open it. Trouble is I also love bags, indeed I have a bit of an obsession with bags, don't care any kind. I have a draw overflowing with shopping bags, and a whole side of a double Ikea wardrobe full of them. So of course, I want an Amy Butler.

So I opened the book, beautiful the layout, the colours, the art-work and all the pattern pieces you don't even have to scale them up. Great, I spent hours looking longingly at the bags and flicking through the instructions before I decided on one, I found just the right fabric, agonised over what colour liner to put in it.

Decisions all made I opened the envelope in the back of the book and sorted the  pattern pieces and off I went. From start to finish I'd say it took about 5 hours, I've only made a couple of bags before so considering the finish you get it's not bad.

At the moment I enjoy carpet bags or tapestry bags so that's what I did and I'm very please with the results. But, I have a couple of comments about the instructions, make sure you read them all the way through before starting and that you understand exactly what to do. I found myself unpicking several times because I misunderstood the instructions. Also, make sure you check the pieces you need I found that one piece of the bag was just measurements in the book no pattern piece.










Despite the couple of reservations I am please with my cosmo bag, the finish is lovely and the inside has a couple of pockets in it.