Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Fabric Stories

When I am sewing, I often use fabrics that were given to me by friends and relatives.  Its bittersweet to look at different fabrics in a scrap quilt and be able to tell where most of them came from, which brings back many memories.

After my mother died, I brought home any fabric that she had left.  She had not sewn much in years, but there were whole fabric pieces, scraps and projects in progress.  In her attic was a big stack of denim fabric, which I am sure she got when she worked at a sewing factory many years ago.  The employees often were given the left overs.  After I washed and dried the denim, I found that it was of very high quality and washed up soft and wrinkle free.   Its not too thick, but a good thickness for sewing.

I can think of lots of projects to make use of the fabric and here's the first one that I am in the process of making.  These will be personalized tote bags for my grandsons.  These will be great for bringing to Grandma's when spending the night, or for the Mama's of the 4 still in diapers, to grab on the go.  I think they would also be great for storage of small toys, like blocks, legos, etc.

Here are the first three of the five bags.  I also have a plastic tote full of kids' fabrics that I lined the bags with.  I'll be making Jake and Dylan's bag this week and then hopefully post a picture of all five of the bags.







I used my own "Reusable Fabric Bags" tutorial.  I love that tutorial, even though I wrote it myself!  I used the handle that is lined with the same fabric as the bag lining.

So, these bags, not only are a gift from me, but also a gift from Mama to five of her great grandsons!  She would have loved that!

7 comments:

Little Penpen said...

Those bags are so sweet! I think the linings and embroidery really make them 'pop'. Your mom is surely smiling at how you used the fabric.

Rita said...

Can you imagine talking with your mom and she would say yes, yes let's do it. Bags are just right. Really like the inside fabric on the handle.

Tori Leslie said...

Those are great! I used your reusable bag tutorial years ago, so easy!

Rhonda said...

Those bags are great. My little ones love to use a bag they hold up with shoulder like these.

I didn't remember you had an monograming machine, how nice!

Susan said...

This is awesome! I love the fact that your bags are made from fabric that belonged to your mother. I really like the embroidered names, too. I got an embroidery machine at an auction for $40; it's a Brother, high-quality. I love to sew with it, and I've gotten the embroidery unit that was missing - but now I have no clue where to go from here! LOL Maybe by the time I have grandchildren I'll learn how to use it!

Terri said...

Those are adorable, Debbie! You always do such beautiful work !

Auntie M said...

Oh, Debbie. How great that you are using that fabric from Miss
Alice. And, the bags are not only cute, but they will be such a blessing to those young mothers.

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