Make the perfect roomy shopping bag, ideal for a Mother’s Day gift or for a gift for yourself.
What you will need:
Craft Cotton Company supplies:
Painted Floral Fat Quarters available at Hobbycraft
Plain white 100% cotton fabric
Heritage Medium weight Quilt Batting
Other supplies:
Card
Bondaweb/fusible webbing
Heat erasable pen and a pencil
Quilting ruler and rotary cutter
Step 1:
Using your rotary cutter and ruler, cut your white cotton fabric into 20 ½ “x20 ½ “square. Cut two of the same sized pieces out of wadding/batting
Step 2:
Draw an outline shape of a teacup and a saucer onto card as your template. If you’re not confident at drawing your own shape then download a suitable image. Flip your template over and draw around this nine times onto the bondaweb.
Step 3:
Roughly cut out your paper cups and saucers and iron these onto your chosen fabrics. Carefully cut out your fabric teacups and saucers.
Step 4:
Draw a centralised square onto your white cotton base fabric to help position your appliqué pieces. Once happy with position, peel off paper backing then iron fabric pieces in place with a dry iron.
Step 5:
Using a free motion embroidery foot on your sewing machine, stitch around the outline of the cups and saucers.
Sewing around a couple of times can give more definition and a ‘sketchy’ appearance.
Step 6:
Using the rotary cutter and ruler, cut out 12 strips of floral fabric 2 ½ “in width.
Step 7:
Position your first strip onto your quilt batting with the right side facing up. Stitch along edge to hold in place. Position your second strip on top of the first with right sides together. Stitch along the edge with a ¼” seam allowance. Fold open your first seam and iron along, making sure the fabric is lying nice and flat.
Step 8:
Position your next strip on top with right sides together again.
Stitch along the edge with a ¼” seam allowance.
Repeat this until your batting is covered.
Use the rotary cutter to trim off the excess fabric.
Step 9:
Layer up the front and back bag pieces. Draw a 4” square in each of the bottom corners and cut this away, this will give the bag a bottom.
Step 10:
Make your bag lining in the same way. I didn’t have large enough pieces of fabric so I joined two together for the lining then cut them 20 ½“ x 20 ½” before removing the bottom 4” squares.
Step 11:
Cut out two strips of fabric 4” by the width of the fabric for the handles. Fold and iron the strip centrally. Open up and fold each raw edge into the centre crease line. Fold these again to sandwich the raw edges inside. Press firmly in place.
Step 12:
Position the bag handle under the sewing machine foot, aligning the edge. Move needle position to the right then stitch along the edge of the bag handle. Turn and stitch along the other edge.
Step 13:
Position the bag handles where required and pin in place. Repeat this on the back of the bag too.
Step 14:
Position the lining on top of the outer fabric with right sides together, make sure bag handles remain in position. Stitch along the top of the bag, reverse stitching over the bag handles will give extra strength. Repeat this on the back of the bag too. When opened the bag handles should hang down over the face of the bag.
Step 14:
Open out bag pieces and position together, making sure seams are aligned. Pin in place and stitch around all sides, leave a gap in the bottom lining seam to turn bag around.
Step 16:
Open out the cut out corners of the bottom of the bag and position these together to stitch the bag shaping seam in place. Repeat with the base of the bag lining. Turn the bag the right way out then stitch the turning gap in the lining closed.
Step 17: Make a mock bag edging by positioning the lining slightly above the top of the bag. Topstitch along the top of the bag to keep the lining in place, making sure handles are sitting in correct position before stitching them down.
You now have your very own appliqué teacups shopping bag for a Mother’s Day gift.
© by Angela Harkness for The Craft Cotton Co