Friday Finish - Handkerchief Bag Finishes

 

Tuesday Tutorial - Self Lining Little Bags

I've been making little bags to give as gifts and also to put gifts in. Some I made from handkerchiefs, others from square pieces of fabric. Recipients have asked me how I make them and maybe someone who reads this blog is also wondering the same thing. 

First, you need a handkerchief or square.  This one is 16 inches square, but some are smaller or bigger.

You can add a decorative bit, but you don't have to.

Fold the square in half, with right sides together and stitch along the long side. I did this one on the sewing machine, but have done others by hand.

Next, put the seam in the middle, and sew along the short sides, leaving a small unstitched part for turning the bag right sides out (upper left corner in this photo).

It looks like this when turned. Give it a quick press if you want.  This pink handkerchief was rather wrinkly.

Next, poke the top half to the inside to form the lining of the bag.

The inside/lining looks like this.

I recently made one with a zipper to close, but usually I do a little draw string. I stitched around the top, about 3/4 of an inch, to make the draw string space.

After unstitching the seam at the back, I use a pin to pull the string around. The handkerchief has finished edges, but if I used a cut square of fabric, I would turn under the fabric at the seam to prevent it from unraveling.

Here is the finished bag. It's a quick finish.

Here are two more I made from handkerchiefs, front and back.  They really do finish up quickly.

Monday Morning Star Count - Zipper Pouch and Week 48

I used a handkerchief, a zipper, and a hexagon piece and made this bag. The handkerchief is folded in fourths, so it makes its own lining for the bag.

Year four of the temperature quilt 

Week 48

March 21 - 17 

64, 57, 59, 68, 61, 66, 64

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Four temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.   

The People's Choice - Blue

 

Jo at Serendipidous Stitching is hosting a Stitch A Long the first Saturday of the month, with the topics chosen by her readers.  This month's topic is Blue. 

Blue is my color of choice for everything. Here are some of my blue stitching projects.