Burlap Table Runner

Decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a burlap table runner.    Purchased  1 1/2 yards of burlap and washed it on gentle cycle.  Air dried and shook all the shreds off.   (well, as much as I could.  It is messy!)  I then ironed the burlap with a steam iron to smooth it all out.  Started by measuring a 17" width of the burlap, full length of fabric.  At the 17" mark I pulled a thread out.  I was then able to cleanly cut the burlap.

Then I sewed  in one inch all the way around the piece and repeated about 1/8 inch (one thread worth) inside that stitch line.  This will prevent any unraveling of the burlap. 

I then taped the runner down to my work table trying to get it as straight as possible.  I used painter's tape to mark a one inch strip inside the stitch marks.  And another rectangle of painter's tape 1/2 inch inside that.  Using fabric paint, I painted this 1/2 inch border.  Then I used some letter templates to paint my Thanksgiving message on the table runner.  Lastly, I removed all the threads outside of my stitch lines to give a 1 inch fringe.  A quick morning project.

Ceramic gift tags

Here are some of the tags I've been making. 

And here is photo of me little drawstring bag with a set of gift tags.  Cute, huh?

Gift Bag Tutorial

I am making some ornaments and/or gift tags to put on my etsy shop and have been trying to decide on packaging for these items.  Originally, I thought I would purchase cellophane or paper bags and print off a label for the bag.  But then I thought about all the fabric I have in my stash.  Why not make drawstring bags. 

So today I sat down and made a prototype.  I think I like it. 





Here is my step by step tutorial on how to make these bags.  You can make them any size, so adjust if you want something larger or smaller.

Cut out two squares of fabric.  I cut mine 5.5 inches square.   Measure and mark about 1 1/4 inch down from the top on the sides of both squares.  Make  a 1/2 inch cut into the squares from each side.  Finger press the cut corners to the wrong side of the fabric and stitch close to the edge. 

Now fold the top edges of both squares down about 1/8 inch and then again at that 1 1/4 inch mark that you made.  Pin this edge down. 

Sew close to the open edge of these folds, creating a casing for the drawstring.

 

 

Now lay the squares right sides together and pin the sides and bottom.  Sew all 3 sides, turning at the corners.  I used a 1/2 " seam allowance. 

 



  Now you could just turn the bag right side out at this point, thread ribbon through the casing and be done making your gift bag.  BUT,  I wanted to make a flat bottom bag.  So, the next step is to press both side seams to the left.  Then lay the bag down so that the side seams are now centered on the top and bottom. (instead of being at the sides)  When you have it lying like this, you are going to tuck the bottom of the bag inside.  Huh, you ask.  Okay, go to the bottom corners of the bag and start pushing the fabric inside so that it looks like the picture below.  I left a little more than 2 inches of fabric straight and tucked in all the fabric below that. 

Mark a line about 1 inch up from the bottom point.  Do this for the top and bottom point.  Then sew across each point on this line.  Cut off the excess fabric on the points. Look at that bag sitting on its flat bottom! 

Now turn the bag right side out and look at the wonderful job you did.  Here is what the bottom should look like. 

Now, cut two pieces of 1/8 inch ribbon about 12-14" in length.  Feed the first ribbon from the left all the way around the bag.  Tie the two ends of the ribbon together.  Feed the second ribbon from the right side all the way around the bag.  Tie those ends together.  The result will be ribbon tied on opposite ends of the casings. 



Now fill those bags with your gift of choice.  Here are some of my gift tags in this bag. 

 

Now I need to go make a bunch more!  Have fun making yours.  



 



 

Patchwork Quilt using Vintage Modern Charm Squares

I have been working on this quilt for over 2 months now and just could not finish it.  Over Labor Day weekend, I buckled down and finished not only this one, but another using the same fabrics.  Hurrah!

Here is the back:

It was fun to quilt once I finally figured out how I wanted it to look.