Tips and Tutorials

....... Have a go at some of the things I've enjoyed making

HANDMADE GIFT BAGS

Here's the folding guide for my handmade gift bags. The yellow and brown bags are made from wallpaper, but you can use almost anything you can lay your hands on - magazine pages, wrapping or brown paper, even newspaper!

Once you've made a few gift bags, and you're getting a really nice finish, you might wish to consider investing in an eyelet setter, similar to the one I use. Its called Crop-a-Dile , follow the link to order online. This one is specified as punching holes of 1/8" and 3/8" so make sure you order all eyelets to match. Generally the larger size hole and eyelet is best for gift bags. There are some other tools by Crop-a-dile that may be worth looking at, but double check on the diameter of the punch before buying.

Two other useful recommendations come from The Works - you might already know about their brilliant value double sided tape, and you will also find a mini paper cutting rule with healing mat for an excellent price. Its great for getting a nice straight edge on gift tags.

PURSES AND WALLETS

Here's a little tip that makes stitching multi layered items such as purses and wallets much more successful. 

My little purses here have five separate layers, and when they're pre-cut to the template shape, the stitching process just makes the pieces slip and the outer edge is then all out of line. 

So I've found the perfect solution...Cut all the layers to a suitable size - a little larger than the final product will be and do any construction of component parts. I make four separate pockets for the outside and inside of my purses. Layer up all the separate pieces and its best to tack round the edges to hold everything in place. Finally the template comes in to play...place it accurately over the worked fabric and draw round it. This will eventually be your cutting line - after you have stitched around your work just inside the cutting line. Once you've got the purse cut out you'll have a lovely neat edge and accurate shape for binding. 

The final result by this method is ten times better than the old way!