Monday, December 6, 2010

Bags, Bags and More Bags!

I mentioned in my last post that I was constructing market bags to use as gifts for my peeps, and so I've made about 16 of these.  I scanned some illustrations from an old La Fontaine book of fables, I purchased some images from graphics sellers, one of them was a rubber stamp I scanned and blew up.  Using t-shirt transfer paper, and an assortment of fabrics from ye olde stash, it was not an expensive project.  The transfer paper was the pricey element, but Michael's and JoAnne's coupons defrayed the cost considerably. 
That interesting rubber stamp, I think it is from a Tim Holz collection.

This peach bag was the back and front of a linen blouse!

I used different scraps for linings, old pillow tickings, this one has a sweet 1930's textile.

I was pretty amazed with the detail that the transfer paper picked up.
I don't intend to make a career out of market bags, but it was a great way to use up some osnaburg and other cottons that I had piling up. The adhesive from the transfer paper made a darker area but because I used such detailed images, no way was I trimming all that excess off. I would like to try silk screening at some point and see if the same detail is possible. Once the fabric was cut and the transfer applied, I could sew one up in about 20 minutes, seriously.



Credit is due and most gratefully given to  oldgreymare for her basic bag construction tutorial. I roughly duplicated her measurements and flew through these.



I intend to use them instead of gift wrap wherever possible. So there you go!

8 comments:

  1. Fabulous! Love how your design flair translates into whatever you do :]

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love them!

    You made them sound like no big deal, but they are VERY cool, and you could sell them easily in your store, I bet!

    Is there anything you can't do?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw c'mon ladies, you are really making me blush. Seriously!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Imagine my surprise when I popped over here to see who my new follower was and there were these wonderful bags!

    I taught for many years because I love the feeling of having someone else get turned on to something I enjoy. Even better is to see them expand upon the simple into something very personal and true to them.

    I am digging your jewelry and will go back to check it all out. I dabble with it very slightly amidst many very talented local jewelry artist pals...

    thanks for the link back..that is class : D

    z

    how did you find me BTW?- do we share a blog pal?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the bags; good for shopping anywhere!
    Au Revoir,
    ♥Danette

    ReplyDelete
  6. Although you don't plan to market your market bags..you certainly could! they are beautiful..and I love that you are upcycling other goods to make this creation! from blouse to shopping bag! wow!

    great concept..and yes, iron transfer is a beautiful thing....your idea of enlarging a stamp to use as an image is great too!

    thanks for sharing!
    happy sewing!

    ciao bella

    and thanks for stopping in to see me....do come again!

    creative carmelina

    ReplyDelete
  7. The bags look fantastic. What a great, useable gift idea!

    ReplyDelete
  8. These are really stunning, they have a wonderful olde time vibe. I really like the idea of using them as gift wrap. Classy!
    Have a great day.
    Cheers,
    Jo

    ReplyDelete