Monday, June 24, 2013

Recreational Sewing

I have verification that the little gift project I was working on last week has reached the recipients so I can share it with you now. I've mentioned here on occasion my generous niece who lives in New York City. She and her husband have a special tie to Grand Central station. So when I spotted an ad for this NYC subway and Grand Central Station fabric, how could I resist?


The Grand Central fabric is especially developed by New York's own City Quilter, a place my niece had told me about. It is part of the centennial celebration for this beautiful building and a recent addition to their other exclusive New York fabric line.


These kids really do not need another quilt from me, even if an idea for incorporating these fabrics into one would have come to mind. However, due to their lifestyle, I suspected a couple of eco bags might be just the thing to showcase this fabric, something they would really use. I started with instructions from Morsbags which I then modified since I wanted to line my bag (a heavier fabric would not need to be lined necessarily). For instance, with folds ironed into place and handle positioned, I layered lining and outer bag wrong sides together and added the double rows of stitching to secure them.


Then I proceeded with Morsebags' instructions for creating an enclosed side and bottom seam (french seam) which I really like. I also like my bags to have a flat bottom which this pattern did not include. It was easy to add that stitching to make that happen.


Here you can see the box bottom on the subway bag, and the lining of the Grand Central bag.


And there you have it - his and hers sturdy eco bags with special meaning. 

1 comment:

Lucia Sasaki said...

Hi Sheila!
Thanks for sharing your adventure with these bags.
I think that is important to mention that it is very good to have good relatives to make gifts. It adds heartwarming meaning to the process.
Thanks again!
Your post made me smile!