Nicola Foreman Quilts
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Tessa's Tote Bag

28/9/2013

5 Comments

 
One of my colleagues, Tessa, is leaving our team at work, and I wanted to make her a leaving gift - so I decided to make her a "Jean's Tote Bag" using a pair of jeans that no longer fitted and were in my rag bag (and were freshly laundered!!) and a half metre of batik in these gorgeous autumnal tones which is just perfect for this time of the year!! As you can see in the picture below showing the lining, the straps have small leather tabs that are stitched to the inside of the bag at the same time...
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...here are a couple of close-up pictures to show the leather handles - these are sewn onto the bag by hand after it is completed, and I've used a dark brown embroidery thread - and I used all six strands in one go, so it's really sturdy and can be used lots and lots. The binding at the top of the bag covers all the raw edges, and after machining into place, is folded over to the inside of the bag and slip-stitched into place by hand. Oh and yes, I added one of my labels to the side seam of the tote bag...
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...and this shows the back of the bag - I quilted the back piece with a cross-hatch design, using a Top stitch needle size 70 and a King Tut quilting thread shade 936 that matches the colours of the batik lining perfectly...
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...and finally - a picture of the front of the bag! You can see how I've cut the jeans to make full use of the pockets so they can be used too - the handles were a bit tricky to sew into place due to the thickness of the denim and the wadding (I used a double layer of Quilter's Dream cotton wadding select weight that I had leftover from other projects for this bag) and I needed plenty of huffing and puffing to get the needle through all the layers - thank goodness there were already tiny holes pre-punched in the handles and thank goodness for my thimble!! I gave this to Tessa last night at her "leaving do" (we all went for a fabulous meal at the White Hart at Otley) and she was really pleased with her gift!
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5 Comments
Caz link
28/9/2013 05:43:44 am

What a great idea!!!

Reply
Nicola link
3/10/2013 11:45:40 am

Thanks Caz!! These really are very quick to make!

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Natalie link
28/9/2013 09:14:44 am

Nicola it looks amazing, I love reusing Jeans for bags.

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Nicola link
3/10/2013 11:46:40 am

Me too Natalie - and I love using batiks with denim!!

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Debra S link
5/10/2013 06:57:39 am

Swell purse!

Reply



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    About me...

    Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
    ​​I live in Suffolk, near the coast, surrounded by the beautiful countryside.  
    ​If you want to share or pin any of my pictures, please link back to my blog.

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    Blogs I follow

    A Quilt Lady
    A Quilting Life
    Abyquilt
    Anne-Grethe's quiltblog
    Anne Marie Quilt
    Bente Malm Quilte-Design
    Bloom
    Cinderberry Styitches
    Daisy made it
    Dilly Dimple
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    Evas Quilterom
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    Fantasia Yarns
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    Hanne's Quilt Corner
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    Kviltstina
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    Lily's Quilts
    Litamora's Quilt & Design
    Lynette Anderson Designs
    Merete's Quiltestue
    Mona's quiltblog
    Pam's Paradise Stitching
    Pia Si Sia
    Random Ramblings
    Sigrun's blog
    Sølvi's blog
    U-handblog
    ZewNice

     UK shops

    These are the UK shops that I use to purchase my quilting supplies - fabrics and threads etc.
    Bramblepatch
    Buttonberry
    Coast and Country Crafts
    Craft Den
    Cross Patch
    Emma's Fabric Studio
    Fiona's Fabrics
    Glenroy Designs
    Halfpenny Home
    Hulu
    J-quilts
    KIS Quilting
    Patchwork Chicks
    Quilter's Cloth
    Quilters Haven
    Sew and So's
    The Eternal Maker
    The Fat Quarters
    The Quilt Room
    U-handbag

    Australian links

    Cookies and Cream Craft
    Homespun magazine
    Little Quilt Store
    Quilt Fabric Delights
    Under The Mulberry Tree

    Scandinavian links

    Lapp-Elisa Quilts HB
    Lappedesign
    Lappedilla AS
    Myquilt
    Northern Quilts
    Quiltegården
    Quiltekroken
    Quiltemagasinet
    Quiltespecialisten
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