New Tricks

There is always something new to learn and I'm going to share a new technique with you in this post. I learned how to make nifty handles with cording. This idea was given freely in Sewing For Free which directs you to the link for Reversible Rope Handled Canvas Bag. Using their idea, I made up a few bags but just made them lined, not reversible. You make the handles by stitching the cording down in rounds, super simple, and the results were quick and very satisfying:

Cotton cording stitched in rounds for handle

Making up the handle first and then fitting up the fabric to sew up the bag was much easier than the other way around. For the first bag I picked out two large dot fabrics that were coordinating:

Stitched on serger first

I sewed up the seams with a serger and then attached the handle with a regular sewing machine:

Finished dot bag

 For the dot fabric bag I used cotton cording, a roll I found out in the garage in a plastic tote with other cords and rope. I like the look and feel of the cotton cord but know it will get dirty quickly: doesn't cotton wash up easily? For the next tote I used some acrylic cording that was marked for macrame. I thought this was going to be easy but it wasn't due to the stretch nature of the acrylic versus the firms cotton cording. I made up two sets of handles that didn't fit and one that was so distorted I threw it away! I finally made up a handle that fit the tapestry bag already made up (much harder than making bag to fit). Next up was a yellow burlap with a fun summer print:

Handle made and fabric ready to sew for a good fit

This bag was much shorter so I think it turned out better:

Finished yellow burlap bag with lining of a flip flop print

Of course, practice did help and this was my third bag and about the fifth set of handles I practiced on. Here are the final two bags:

Tapestry bag and burlap bag

I like to stitch the bottom of the bag to secure the lining to the outside fabric. I think these bags could use a little embellishment but not sure what I could do at this point so they might have to just look pretty on their own with the fabric choices I made.
Which sewing machine did I use to make up these tote bags?  I picked out the Bernina Nova 900 and it just purred along, never pulling at the cord or getting stitches caught in the thick cord.Since I worked on this over several days I did use my Viking Designer 1 but it did not sew as nicely as the Bernina Nova yet I was too lazy to pull out the Bernina again. Sigh. As for the serging, I used one of the last acquired Huskylocks, the three thread 430 and it did a very nice job. Because burlap is a somewhat difficult fabric I serged the seams and also using bias binding on the edges to seal and reinforce all seams. Using a lining with the burlap will also help to distribute the stress of those seams but time will tell how it holds up.

Next up: I got a mangle! It was so much fun to get it working again plus I used it on the above fabrics and the quilted wall hanging I'm finishing up. Wait until you see what this old fashioned iron can do!