Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew - Giveaway and Free Pattern!

Welcome to my stop on the Ho Ho Ho and on We Sew Blog Hop! Fiona @ Celtic Thistle Stitches hosts a tutorial blog hop on the theme of things to make for Christmas - yes I know its only just over but in case you wanted to get ahead or are looking for ideas on a present to make there are a bunch of tutorials over on the Ho Ho Ho page, 28 in total and I'm adding #29 today.  There is a linkup below for all your Christmas makes and a generous prize.  This month's giveaway is the Christmas Decoration pack from Angela Attwood.

This time last year Pam @ Threading My Way, made some cute 5" drawstring gift bags.  I'm continuing the theme of drawstring bags with a free pattern for my Patchwork themed larger bag measuring 13".   It can accommodate a patchwork block maximum size 6" x 8" so perfect for those 6" blocks like star blocks that you might want to make!

Last year, as a gift for my friend who loves baking and cake decorating I made this version to hold all the little brushes and cookie cutters you gather as a baker.  I tired to write it as a tutorial but it got so long with all the little pieces required  for the cake and bag (7 pages!) that it was easier to put it all into a free download on PDF as a pattern instead!

I just got my Janome back from the repair shop and decided to test it and the pattern by making another bag!   Instead of a cake block I modified Soma @ Whims and Fancies Fields on Camera design so it would fit as a 6" block on my bag.  I was lucky enough to win this brilliant pattern in a draw last year - thank you Soma!  I thought it would make a nice front for my bag as a present for my mum to hold her camera battery charger, cables and adaptors for travelling.

This time around I boxed the corners and again used a 2" ribbon for the drawstring, lined it with a brighter fabric on the inside to make it easier to find stuff inside.

I tried out a few fancy stitches for the applique to make sure my machine was back to tip top working order but am sorry now I didn't satin stitch them as it is a bit rough around the edges this way!

Wilbur is not too impressed either (might be the fact that there is nothing edible inside!)  I think he's right though the applique finish is not up to mum's standards so I just might keep this one for myself  and make mum another one (this would fit my cleaning kit and lens hoods nicely for my new Fuji camera!)

And of course to let me know how he felt about the lack of treats he jumped at my head!  You'd never know he had 3 epileptic seizures in a row only a week ago, would you?  He's doing well on med's now and is loving getting his tablet twice a day with peanut butter.  I might just have to make him a bag for his tablets, one with a big W on it!

If you want to showcase a piece of patchwork and make a personalised bag as a gift the pattern is free to download here.

To enter the draw to win Angela's Decoration pack please link up below:

Thank you to all this years sponsors for being so generous and supporting

 

  

 

 

A Finish- Patchwork cake themed drawstring bag!

There has been lots going on and lots of makes in progress in my corner of the world these past few weeks.  One of them is this little gift bag.

A very good friend of mine is getting married next January and we had a weekend away in Cork for her hen party.  One of the activities, was for each person to make or prepare something for the Hen that would prompt her to guess who made it and remind her of a story, or funny thing about her.  This was a great success and we had a box filled with train timetables, a map of Paris, CD of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, photos etc. 

Our Hen loves to make cakes and has great fun decorating them.  I made her a drawstring bag so she can put some of her cake decorating bits and bobs in.  For the dinner activity I put a packet of chocolate digestives in the bag!  Not for dessert mind you which was lovely,  they were to remind her that before she became the master cake decorator that she is today, without fail for every party, she made chocolate biscuit cake.  Scrummy!

This was my first time making a drawstring bag and I have to say it wasn't that hard!  I didn't take enough photos as I was going along (concentrating too hard and in a bit of a rush!) for a full tutorial but I hope to write it up as a downloadable pattern over the Christmas.  It was fun and I would definitely make more of these.

For now, here is the design  and the piece parts to make up the front of the bag!  The cake section is 6.5" x 9" unfinished and 13" x 13" total size front and back so not too big and something easily made from scraps and fat quarters.  I think this would be really cute for Christmas with a penguin or a Rudolph on it!