Finishing the Sampler Bag

I have loved working on this project!  It only took about a week and a half start to finish, but I have to say some of those days I worked on it all day long and into the evening.

To line the purse, I used a piece of this kimono sleeve.

 

I used a thin layer of batting between the lining and the stitched fabric.

I put the layers together, then added a beaded edge.  I made a piece of twisted cord with DMC perle #5 in color 518 for the inside edge. I put two snaps to keep the bag closed. 

I am thoroughly pleased with my new little hand bag.

Sampler Purse - Beads and Ribbons

I could have made do with the things I had, but I decided to just take a look at Kanariya.  They had tons of trim, but only a few in the 3 mm (1/8”) width.  This is what I came home with.

Are you wondering what I’m doing with these skinny ribbons?  Take a look. The trim covers the blue stripes between the white stitched stripes.

 

 
Next, I will decide on a lining fabric and work on putting it together.  Here I’ve just folded up the piece, but it will look something like this when it’s done. 

Ten More Rows on the Sampler Bag

Row 29
Straight stitch in DMC perle cotton #5 - 3689 and rayon Iris 124

Row 31

Double blanket stitch in rayon Iris 145 and 000

Row 33

Double feather stitch in Caron Wildflowers 236 (Appalachia)

Row 35

Detached chain stitch in DMC perle cotton #12 - 794

Row 37

Arrowhead stitch in DMC perle cotton #5 - 315

Row 39

Wheatear stitch in Gentle Arts Sampler Thread – Ohio Lemon Pie

Row 41

Cross stitch and straight stitch in Caron Wildflowers 133 (Delphium)

Row 43

Straight stitch in DMC perle cotton #5-  4230

Row 45

Long and short blanket stitch in Watercolors 62 (Burnt Toast)

Row 47

Feather stitch in Gentle Arts Sampler Thread

Here's all of it so far:

The remaining rows follow the blue lines and are couched and beaded trim and ribbons.  I pulled out all of my trimming stuff and don’t have much in the 1/8 inch size. I’ll have to make do with what I have and it will be good.

 

The pattern called for two packets of 00151 ash mauve Mill Hill beads.  I think I will use different colors and maybe different sizes of beads for my bag.  Stay tuned....

Seven More Rows on the Sampler Bag

I am loving this project! There’s no “wrong” – I can do whatever I like with it.  I’m using some threads I bought because I liked the look and feel of them and some threads that were leftover from other projects.

You can see my first seven stitched rows here. Now, for my progress:

Row 15

Herringbone and straight stitches, done with Caron Wildflowers 236 (Appalachia) and rayon Iris 000

Row 17

Feather Stitch in DMC perle #5 - 4120

Row 19

Straight stitch in Soy Luster 269 (Love in the Mist) and 413 (Envy)

Row 21

Butterfly chain in Bravo A111

Row 23

Herringbone and Chevron stitches in Caron Soie Cristale 8013 (Surf) and 4024 (yellow)

Row 25

Feather stitch in three strands of Mandarin floss M856

Row 27

Fly stitch in Grandeur G889

It’s really hard to put this down!

Sampler Bag Start

The weather has been getting warmer, but winter isn’t over yet!  Cherry blossom petals are falling in other parts of Japan, but snow is still falling in Hokkaido.

Margaret sent me this mattress ticking fabric and the directions/pattern for a sampler bag after seeing my attempts at the TAST stitches. 

The bag pattern features 47 rows of stitches and embellishments – 24 rows of stitches along the white stripes and 23 rows of braids and beads along the dark stripes in between. I plan to substitute called for threads and colors with what I have in my stash.  I don’t have so many braids, so I’ll figure out what to do about that when the time comes.

Here is what I’ve done so far –

Row 1

Herringbone stitch. DMC perle cotton #8.  I substituted 3689 for the called for 819.

Row 3

Double feather stitch. The called for thread was kaleidocolours RF 010 cornflower. I substituted JL Walsh silk perle #61.

Row 5

Ermine filling stitch. The called or thread was Au Ver a Soie, Soie D’Alger stranded silk, 1444 dusty blue.  I substituted Caron Waterlillies #44 Ice.

Row 7

Couched herringbone.  The called for threads were YLI Pearl crown rayon in #225 maroon and # 286.  I substituted Iris rayon in #145 and #000.

Row 9

Fly stitch.  The called for thread was Leah’s variegated perle cotton #8 in #801 multi-berry (gold).  I substituted LJP overdyed perle #8.

Row 11

The called for stitch was satin stitch circles, DMC perle cotton #5 in 321 red. I changed to diagonal chain stitch with Weeks perle #8 in Liberty 2269.

Row 13

I changed long and short scalloped  blanket stitch to long and short blanket stitch. The called for thread was  Au Ver a Soie, Soie D’Alger stranded silk, 2914 peach.  I substituted Caron Soie Cristale #4024.

Thank you Margaret!  I am really enjoying this project. I'll have progress to show soon.