Project by Helen Bowes
Do you want to make your own Easter bag this year rather than buying more plastic from the shops? This lovely little bag will be perfect for those Easter Egg hunts.
Step 1: Gather Materials
For this make you will need the following:
· Lining Fabric (rabbit) - 1 strip 7 inches by 20 5/8th inches
1 circle 7 inches diameter
· Fabric A (small squares) – 4 inches by 20 5/8th inches strip
7-inch diameter circle
2 strips 10 ½ inches by 1 ½ inches
· Fabric B (rabbit) – 6 x petal pieces 3 3/8th inch length by 4 inches width, rounded corners
Extra for pull tabs.
· Fabric C (plain pink) – 3 ¾ inch by 20 5/8th inch strip
· Fusible fleece or wadding – 1 circle 6 ¼ inch diameter.
6 ¼ inch by 19 7/8th inch strip
· Lace or sequin strip - 20 5/8th inches
· Light weight fusible interfacing – 2 strips 10 ½ inches by 1 1/2 inches
· Ribbon – 2 pieces 30 inches long
· Bodkin or safety pin
· Mark making pencil, pen, tailers chalk.
· Iron and Ironing board
· Cutting mat, scissors, rotary cutter
· Ruler and compass
· Sewing machine and thread
· Fabric glue
Step 2: Create lining
For the lining I used the same fabric as I did for fabric B which is this lovely rabbit pattern. Cut your pieces out as detailed above. Lay the length of fabric down pattern up and fold in half so the two short ends meet and the right sides of fabric as facing each other. Draw a mark at the short end 1 ½ inches down from the top and up from the bottom. Sew a seam from the top to the mark and from the bottom to its mark using a 3/8th inch seam allowance. You should now have short tube with a 4-inch opening along the short side seam.
Next mark your tube into quarter. Your seam forms on mark and you can mark the opposite edge. Fold the material in half again and mark the next two points on either side of the fold line. You want to do the same for your circle base and mark that into quarters by folding it twice.
Now pin your tube onto your base circle. Match up each of your quarter marks with the right sides of fabric facing each other. Gradually go round the circle lining up the edges and pinning into place. Once pinned, sew the base to the tube using a 3/8th inch seam allowance. Clip the edge of the circle up to the stitch line. Now the lining is complete you can put it to one side until we need it again.
Step 3: Make the bag base.
Cut a circle out of fabric A and a circle from your fusible fleece. Following manufacturers guidelines iron your fleece onto the wrong side of your fabric circle. If you don’t have any fusible fleece don’t worry, you can use a fabric glue pen to stick your wadding to your fabric. The wadding or fleece circle will be smaller than your fabric circle. Mark the fabric circle with cross hatched lines – this fabric lends itself to quilting due to the repeating pattern. I sewed diagonally along the pattern to create the quilted effect.
Step 4: Make the sides of the bag.
Cut out two strips of fabric, one from fabric A and one from a piece of plain fabric that compliments your others. Place right sides together and sew along one long edge with a 3/8th inch seam allowance. Once complete, press the seam flat.
With this fabric pressed flat you can now bond another piece of fusible fleece or glue some wadding on. Centre it so that it doesn’t come to any of the 4 edges and you have a little border of fabric around it. Once this is bonded turn the fabric over, so the right sides are facing you. Using lace or sequin or other trim, place this over the seam and stitch in place.
Step 5: Sew the petals.
Using your petal template cut out 12 petals. For this project, the image of the rabbit was the perfect size to fill the petals. Place two pieces right sides together and sew around the two sides and bottom with a 3/8th inch seam allowance. Once sewn make knicks into the fabric up to the stitch line but not over. Turn your petal the right way round and press flat. Repeat this until you have 6 petals that are double sided. Find the centre point of your basket side and place 3 petals on either side of this point with the tops of the petals lining up with the top of the fabric and spaced out evenly along the length of the piece. Don’t go over the seam allowance at the sides. Once happy with placement, baste into place.
Step 6: Add the casing.
Following manufacturers guidelines attach the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric strips. To create a neat end turn the short side of your fabric over by ¼ inch so the wrong sides as facing each other. Stitch 1/8th inch from the edge. Complete on all 4 short ends. Then fold your fabric in half wrong sides facing and press.
Place the casing so that the long open send matches along the top of the side piece. It should cover the top of three petals and the short ends should be open and are separate in the middle. Pin in place and, once happy, stitch the casing on using a 1/8th inch seam.
Step 7: Assemble the basket.
Fold your outside of the bag in half with right sides facing. Sew together at the meeting raw edge using a 3/8th seam allowance. Your wadding/fleece should meet at this seam. Take care not to catch any of the ribbon casing or petals in the seam. Using the same technique as you did for the lining, sew the base onto the outer bag tube. Trim away any excess seam allowance and create notches that go as far as the stitching. This is will make it sit better when fully assembled.
Turn the bag the right way round and place it inside the lining with right sides facing. Line the two side seams up, so they match and then pin around the top of the bag. Ensure the petals are included and the ribbon casing (ensure this is facing downwards). Once happy with your alignment, baste through all the layers - lining, casing, petals, bag fabric, using the smallest seam allowance you can at this stage. Now it is all secure you can sew your seam 1/8th inch below your baste stitching.
Using the hole that you left in the lining, pull the bag through the hole and the right way round. Check the fit by pushing the lining back into the bag. Once happy, pull the lining back out again and blind stitch the opening closed.
Cut two lengths of ribbon 30 inches long and attach one end to a safety pin. Feed the safety pin through the casings, starting at the side seam. If struggling, use a crochet hook fed through the casing to pull the safety pin through. If you have a bodkin, use this. With the ribbon pulled all the way round, tie the two ends in a knot and trim any excess off. Repeat with your second piece of ribbon but starting on the opposite side.
You can choice to leave it like this or decorate the ends. I opted to decorate the ends and hide the knots using the rabbits from the fabric in the same way we did the petals.
Made by Helen Bowes for The Craft Cotton Company 2021
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