Fabric Fun

Our Design Team theme this week is Hearts & Flowers so I’ve taken the opportunity to use one of the new stamps from the Floral Life release. My brief was for a non-card project so I thought I’d try out making my own printed fabric. If you don’t sew, this can be an eco-wrapping - just wrap and tie with a piece of ribbon - or used for a sewing project. I’m making a simple reusable drawstring gift bag with my fabric but with the colourful theme, it’d be perfect for a pencil or make-up case.

Tutorial

To make my bag, I started with two pieces of thin white cotton fabric 19” x 27” which I’d folded in half along the long side and pressed well. Using a Frixon pen (which is erased with heat from the iron), I marked 3” from each end of one of the pieces, which would be the liner.

The next step was to stamp the small flower and one of the sentiments from Colourful Life. I covered all of one piece but just at the ends to the 3” line on the other. Before I cut my fabric, I had cut off a small section and tested the stamping and colouring. This was worthwhile as I’d planned on using Sharpie markers to colour in the flowers but they bled a lot and the colour ran outside the lines. My tips for successful stamping are:

• Press the fabric well so that there are no crease lines;
• Use a block as close as possible to the size of the stamp;
• A juicy black, waterproof ink pad is essential – I used Versafine Onyx Black;
• Use a stack of paper to stamp on so the surface has a little give, not directly onto a hard surface;
• Press the block firmly for a few seconds before lifting up.

Next was the fun bit – the colouring! I used some inexpensive fabric markers that I bought from Amazon and started with the lining fabric, colouring in all of the flower. This made me realise that my pens were a bit old and drying out so I just feathered colour onto the flowers on the other piece of fabric. I actually preferred these ones, which was fortuitous!

If you’re going for the no-sew option, you’re done! Although, to prevent the fabric fraying, use pinking shears on the edges. If you’re making the bag, fold the fabrics so that the patterned sides (the right sides) are together. Use ¼” seam allowance and sew down each side of the main fabric. On the lining fabric, sew all down one side but on the other side, leave an opening of 3-4” about 3½” from the top edge.

I like my gift bags to be boxed as it gives them a proper bottom(!) but you can skip this step if you wish. To create the boxing, mark a line 1¼” from the bottom fold and 1½” from the side seam on each bottom corner of both the lining and main fabric then trim away.

Line up the cut edges, aligning the side seam with the fold line and stitch across.

Once the boxing is complete, turn the main fabric right side out and place inside the lining. Line up the side seams and pin together along the top edge. Stitch all the way around ¼” from the edge.

Turn the bag right side out through the hole in the side of the lining - this procedure is called “bagging out”. Sew up the hole in the lining.

Push the lining inside the bag and press around the top edge. Mark lines 2¼” and 3” from the top on each side and sew all the way around both lines to create the channel for the drawstrings.

Unpick each side seam between the lines of stitching. Pin a large safety pin through the end of a 26” length of ribbon and push into the hole, feeding it all the way around and back out of the same hole. Knot the ribbon ends together and trim. Repeat this procedure, this time feeding the ribbon in from the other hole.

Now if each ribbon knot is pulled outwards at the same time, it should cinch the bag closed. All done!