Sunday, November 2, 2008

Sew Much Fun - Drawstring Gift Bags



A few years ago my mother in law gave me this little sewing machine for Christmas. Obviously, she had a lot more confidence in my ability to sew than I did because it sat in my closet for years .

A couple of weeks ago I took it out of the box for the first time. I looked at all the bits and pieces (I think the proper term for this is notions) and walked away feeling intimidated and defeated.


One of my favorite bloggers, Simple Mom, is hosting the sewing portion of "Holidays By Hand". This was the motivation I needed. Yesterday, I sat down with the manual, and after more time than I care to admit to, I figured it out!


I had a yard of this Michael Miller fabric and thought it would be great to make gift bags for the holidays. I found an excellent tutorial from HappyThings for drawstring bags and got busy.



I followed her directions step-by-step and created my very first sewing project. From one yard of fabric, I will be able to make 8 drawstring bags that are roughly 7 x 10 inches. I plan on using these for goody bags for Davis' preschool class holiday party.



I learned two very important things from this experience. I love to sew - it feels so good to make something all on my own. I also learned it doesn't take a big, fancy sewing machine to make something practical and useful, but it would be nice to have one that has a reverse button! So Santa, if you're reading this . . . .

10 comments:

Anna (Green Talk) said...

I always loved to sew. I decide to take on a project to make cushion covers with cording! I thought, how hard can this be?

After trying to figure it out, I sheepishly went to my son's home ec teacher to help me. Little by little I have worked on this project. It is so satisfying to make something yourself.

Cathy said...

Those are so cute! I've gotten back into sewing, recently, too. I'll have to check out that web site for more ideas.

suzannah | the smitten word said...

these are adorable, and i'm impressed:)

Jodi said...

great job - I'll have to give these a try! we're really loving the homemade Christmas idea this year!

Jen said...

first of all - you did a great job - they turned out SEW CUTE!!! ;) secondly - i just started sewing, too, a couple months ago - and it truly is unbelievably satisfying - a great creative outlet and wonderful at relieving stress! way to go!!

Anonymous said...

wow, I love the fabric! great work!

Kimberly said...

I LOVE this project! Totally cute

FlipFlop Mom said...

Oh.. I'm loving the bag!!!!

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Hmmm...this is silly but do they make sewing machines with reverse buttons? That would be wonderful! I am asking for a sewing machine for Christmas, and am a little intimidated, but I really want the freedom to be able to do projects for myself. I am glad to hear you had so much success! Those bags are adorable!
Carrie

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

LOVE this. It would be a great first "real" project for me!