Super Simple Wine Bottle Gift Bag

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

Here is my pattern for a super simple wine bottle gift bag. I have been making this for years and it has never failed me. There are a lot of pictures involved in this tutorial but I promise you that this is simple to make. The first one may take you an hour, but each consecutive one can be made up in half that time. This is sized for a bottle with a girth of 9 inches. I suggest that you start by measuring the girth of your bottle and add 2-1/2" to that measurement. This will provide enough ease around the bottle but at the same time, will give you a nice fit and eliminate that baggy, saggy look.

Cut one each of the following:
Outside panel: 11-1/2" x 12-1/4"
Lining panel: 11-1/2" x 12-1/4"
Casing: 22" x 3"
Drawstring: 21" x 1"
(Please note that this drawing is not drawn to scale. It is for clarification purposes only)


I used a 1/4" bias tape maker to make my drawstring. If you do not own one, start by folding both raw edges to the center. Press in place.


Fold in half and press.


Sew along opening. Set aside.


For the casing, bring the short ends together, right sides together, and pin in place. Sew together using a 1/4" seam.


Turn casing right side out. With seam in center, press both ends flat.


Fold casing in half lengthwise, raw edges together, press.


Sew a 3/4" seam from the folded edge. Set aside.


For the outside panel bottom, fold over 1/2" to the wrong side and press in place. Repeat for the lining.


Place the outside panel onto a flat surface, right side facing up. Center casing strip at the top of the panel on the 11-1/2" side, raw edges together. Pin in place or if you'd like, you can take this to your sewing machine and do a quick basting stitch to keep the casing from shifting.


Pin both the outside and the lining panel together at the top with right sides facing each other.


Sew 1/4" seam from the raw edge.


Open piece and iron seam toward the lining. Pin together lengthwise, right sides together. This will form a long tube.


Sew a 1/4" seam from the raw edge, press open. Turn right side out. Tuck the lining into the bag.


To close the bottom of the bag, start by pinning both the lining and the outside panels together.





With a double strand of quilting thread, take a running stitch approx. 3/8" apart close to the outside edge.


Gather & tie off from the inside.


This bag has a yo-yo-like bottom that I absolutely adore. I prefer this type of bottom compared to a box bottom because the fit is so much nicer. Most wine bottles have a concave bottom (the punt) so the thickness caused by the gathers nest nicely inside and does not hamper the bottle from standing up straight.


Thread the drawstring through the lower casing.


Gather & tie into a bow.


The completed wine bottle gift bag.


I hope that you've enjoyed this tutorial. Cheers!

Aloha!

Book Cover with Magnetic Closure

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

The addition of magnetic clasps provide a neat and clean way to put a closure on purses and accessories. After being unable to locate my magnetic clasps for a project that I was working on, I came up with the idea of using regular old craft magnets instead. They take a little bit of forethought to use in a project, but they work well. They're very economical too!

Two things to note: Take care to ensure that your magnets aren't opposing when placed into your project or your closure will not work. Another is to remember that thin fabrics work well around the closure areas. Too many thick layers of fabric will provide you with a very weak closure. Because there are layers of fabric between the magnets, you will not get as strong of a hold as direct magnet contact would give you.

To begin, I give each magnet a coat of clear acrylic spray to protect the fabric from the black coloring in the magnets. I have found that most magnets do not shed it's color, but some do. I say that it's better to be safe than sorry.


For this book cover, I am using a hexie flower as a closure. I placed the magnet into the center of the wrong side of the flower and placed another hexie over the magnet to secure it.


The hexie is then hand sewn in place before being covered by another hexie flower.


After determining where the second magnet should be placed in the book cover (determine this by where the hexie flower closure will be), place the magnet onto the wrong side of the lining. Cover the magnet with a small piece of fabric and sew it in place. I've used a zipper foot to get close to the magnet. Neatness isn't too much of an issue in this step as the magnet will be hidden in the lining and will not be visible on the outside of the book cover.


I have used my bone folder to point out where the magnet is. As you can see, it is barely visible as I have used matching thread in securing the magnet to the lining.


This photo shows the bone folder pointing to the location of the magnet on the book cover front. As you can see, it is barely visible. Also visible is the underside of the hexie flower with the magnet in it's center.


The completed note book cover with a magnetic hexie flower closure.


I hope you've enjoyed seeing my improvised version of a magnetic clasp closure.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your wonderful comments and emails. I continue to be overwhelmed with your kindness and generosity. More than I deserve, really.

Have a fabulous day!

Aloha!

Pink Poinsettia

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

There is a cat that lives at our house. A very big and lovable cat. One of his favorite pastimes is to sit in front of the screen door and watch bugs and lizards go by. He is a very spunky and eager kitty who loves to pounce on the screen and often creates tears in it. Suffice to say, the screen often needs replacing.


This has left me with quite a collection of remnant fiberglass window screen.


I decided to use the pieces of screen to make poinsettia Christmas tree ornaments. (What can I say, I am already dreaming of the holidays). I cut petal-shaped pieces from the screen and painted it with acrylic paint. I also added dabs of pink glitter paint for a little glitz. (Please note that the petals can also be painted with spray paint which would be faster and less messy).


With needle and thread, I took running stitches along the base of seven petals, tied them into rounds, sewed two petal rounds together, and topped it with seed beads, sequence, and buttons. I think that this would make a nice Christmas tree topper if made larger and with the addition of a few more petal layers.


Christmas is in the air. I can feel it already and it has nothing to do with the air-con that I have on full blast. *wink* Or the steamy hot mug of apple cider sitting at my desk. If you're anything like me, you're heavily immersing yourself in thoughts of cooler days and evenings. Even if it means you're relying on your air-con to put you in the mood. Whatever works, right? And this really works for me.

Hope you're having a good day!

Aloha!

Ruffled Christmas Tree

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

Hi everyone! I'm back! Rested, refreshed, and ready to get back to the business of creating once again.

If you've been following my blog, you know how much I rely on cardboard circle templates. I keep a plastic bag filled with as many different sizes as possible. I really don't know what I would do without them.

This project relies heavily on circle templates. You can create your circles using a circle cutting system, a compass, or from items around your house . The kitchen is a great place to look...plates, bowls, and plastic lids all make wonderful templates. Better yet, if you have a circle cutting system meant for cutting fabric, use it instead and skip the cardboard templates altogether.


You will start out with 8 circles:
Cut the following sizes from fabric.
8-1/2", 8", 7-1/2", 7", 6-1/2", 6", 5-1/2", 5"
Keeping the circles in descending order will lessen the confusion.

Here is where it gets a bit tricky so we'll take it step by step.

Starting with the 8-1/2" circle: Remove a 4-1/2" circle from it's center. (You will be using some of the center circles for this project, so cut each one out carefully.)
Set the 8-1/2" circle aside. Take the 4-1/2" circle and remove a 2-1/2" circle from it's center. Set the 4-1/2" circle aside. Take the 2-1/2" circle and remove a 1-1/2" circle from it's center. Set the 2-1/2" circle aside and discard the 1-1/2" circle. (When I say discard, I really mean set aside for future project use).

For the 8" circle, remove a 4-1/4" circle from it's center. Set the 8" circle aside and discard the 4-1/4" circle.

For the 7-1/2: circle, remove a 4" circle from it's center. Set the 7-1/2" circle aside. Take the 4" circle and remove a 2-1/4" circle from it's center. Set the 4" circle aside and discard the 2-1/4" circle.

For the 7" circle, remove a 3-3/4" circle from the center. Set the 7" circle aside and discard the 3-3/4" circle.

For the 6-1/2" circle, remove a 3-1/2" circle from it's center. Set the 3-1/2" circle aside. Take the 3-1/2" circle and remove a 2" circle from it's center. Set the 3-1/2" circle aside. Take the 2" circle and remove a 1-1/4" circle from it's center. Set the 2" circle aside and discard the 1-1/4" circle.

For the 6" circle, remove a 3-1/4" circle from it's center. Set the 6" circle aside and discard the 3-1/4" circle.

For the 5-1/2 circle, remove a 3" circle from it's center. Set aside the 5-1/2" circle. Take the 3" circle and remove a 1-3/4" circle from it's center. Set the 3" circle aside. Discard the 1-3/4" circle.

For the 5" circle, remove a 2-3/4" circle from it's center. Set the 5" circle aside. Discard the 2-3/4" circle.

Whew, are you still with me??? Remember, this is simple if you take it one step at a time. I tried my best to utilize most of the center pieces so that there would be minimal fabric waste for this project.

You will end up with 14 donut-shaped pieces in the following sizes:
8-1/2", 8", 7-1/2", 7", 6-1/2", 6", 5-1/2", 5", 4-1/2", 4", 3-1/2", 3", 2-1/2",and 2"


With a scalloped edge scissor, cut around the outside edge of each circle.


For the base and trunk of the tree, you will need an empty thread spool and a drinking straw. Take a small piece of fabric and glue this around the spool of thread. Glue the drinking straw into the center of the spool of the thread.


Take a running stitch around the center straight edge of the 8-1/2" circle.


Place the gathered circle onto the straw, gather tightly, knot off, and slide it down to the base of the tree.


Continue adding gathered circles in descending order.


Use a little bit of glue to hold the top piece in place. Clip straw if needed. Glue a decorative button to the tree top.


A view from the top. Scrumptious, ruffly goodness.


I hope you enjoyed this project. Now go on and create a forest of ruffled Christmas trees to call your own!

Have a fabulous day everyone!

Aloha!

A Simple Drawstring Beach Bag

A very basic drawstring beach bag.


A towel is sewn into the bottom hem of the lining of the beach bag.


When beach time is over, fold the long ends of the towel to the center.


Roll and then tuck the towel into the bag, inverting the bag so that the towel and the pocket is now on the inside. The large interior zippered pocket is the same size as the length and width of the bag and is meant to hold suntan lotion and valuables. This is especially helpful if one should fall asleep while sunbathing. If someone tries to take your bag, they will have to take you along with it! When you get home from the beach, toss the bag/towel combo into the wash. Couldn't be easier!


Have a fabulous day!

Aloha!