Originally posted 2009-02-18 05:52:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
As a stitcher, I’m always looking for fast projects which make great gifts. I am also always in need of projects bags.
With these delightful totes and project bags from Stitch a Gift you have both.
The bags are made from a combination of fabric and a Vinyl Aida fabric, a soft, flexible mesh which can easily be used as the basis for needlepoint.
What a fantastic idea! Looking at the website you can see the wide variety of styles available with mesh in many colors, each mesh color coordinating with the fabric insets, so you always have a finished look.
They come in different sizes. Project bags in 7″x6″, 10″x9″, and 16.5″x 12″. Totes are 16.5″ x 12″ and have webbing handles.
I stitched the one pictured above Friday night in less than an hour and a half. I used an overdyed pearl #3 from my stash and the initials I had designed awhile ago. Already it is in use as a project bag, holding my hearts bellpull.
This more Christmasy design is a tote bag. I stitched it in cross stitch using a single strand of Watercolours.
The vinyl mesh is no more difficult to stitch on than a soft needlepoint canvas you hold in your hand. It is a bit disconcerting a first to be reaching inside something to find the “back,” but I got used to it quickly.
The mesh is pretty open so be sure to use away waste knots in line with the stitching and cut them off close to the stitching. End your threads by putting them through the back of threads.
The other difficulty is that these meshes are not square, they are rectangular, being taller than they are wide. This means that letters will appear taller and that realistic shapes might be distorted. If you stick with geometric designs, you’ll be fine. You can see this pretty clearly in the Christmas tote. The chart is a square, but the end result is rectangular. It isn’t a problem here, but it could be in other designs.
These bags are so fun and easy to make, I can’t wait to do more.
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[...] Stitch a Gift Totes and Project Bags [...]
Great idea for making a reuseable gift bag