In last week’s sale, we featured our “OTHER FABRICS” category and when I shared a pic of one fabric in particular, it received a lot of attention!! Most people thought it was beautiful but wondered, “what the heck can you make with it?”! OK, that was my interpretation of their questions but it got me thinking about it too! Every day when I was at work I’d look at it and try to think of what you could make with it…..and then as usual with me, lightbulb came on!!
First off, the fabric in question is this beauty, the Clearance Feathers Canal Slub!
Isn’t that gorgeous!!! It’s what I would call more of a drapery fabric. It is 100% cotton and 60″ wide. As you can tell, it’s not something we would normally carry but Melissa brought it in by special request from a customer who just had to have it for her sunroom drapery, if I remember correctly! Anyway, it seldom sells because I think no one knows what to do with it…..so, challenge accepted lol!!
I suggested to one customer that it would make a great tote and the more I thought about it, I was sure I was right for a couple of reasons. Being that it’s cotton, it’ll wash great and with that awesome, unique pattern, it would be stunning! Sooooooo now all I had to do was find the perfect tote pattern because, yes, I could have just done a completely simple tote and call it a day buuuuuutttttttt “Hi, my name is Shawna and I always love a bit of a challenge in my sewing” lol!
I searched and searched and kept coming back to one that caught my attention fairly early on! I loved the clean lines of it and while it was fairly basic, I knew I could add a couple of things to make it perfect for me!
Here’s the pattern I decided on, the French Market Tote Bag which I found on the Bright Corner website! You see how it just looks like a simple and yet sophisticated tote, with that unique colour blocking on the top? I was intrigued enough to give it a go and I’m so happy I did!
After reading through the pattern I realized it really indeed is very basic, which is absolutely perfect for a tote to haul groceries in or whatever one hauls in a tote but I knew that after going through all of this, I would want to use by tote more as a purse so I needed to make just 3 alterations to the pattern: a snap closure, slip pockets inside and I wanted to use my new favourite Seat Belt Webbing for handles. Ok, I can’t wait any longer to show you my cute bag, so here you go!
Oooohhhhhh I just love her, and honestly, even more than I thought I would!! I really love the size too, it’s perfect to hold all my goodies and then some!
So as I said, I added a snap closure and a simple split slip pocket inside that will hold my phone in one section and my lip gloss and any other little things that I don’t want to have to search the entire bag for! I definitely could have added more pockets but since I made this one the entire width of the bag, there’s lots of room in it!
Want to know what else I love about this bag??? It only cost me approximately $17 to make, not including the snap and the “Handcrafted” sign cause I’ve had them forever and have no idea how much they were at the time lol!!!
- 1/2 yard CLEARANCE Feathers Canal Slub $7.50
- 1/2 yard CLEARANCE Aqua Color Bomb Bubble $7.00
- 2 yards Seat Belt Webbing (bought off of Amazon) $2.40
I’m so happy with myself for deciding to give this project a go and you better believe I will be carrying this with pride, just watch for me on the street lol! Hmmmmm, now I need a matching wallet I think lol, stay tuned I guess lol!!
Have you ever used a fabric for something other than it’s intended use? I’d love to hear all about it!
Have a great week and enjoy that spring weather…..it’s a-coming!!
Shawna
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