Tutorial: How to make / sew a marble bag

I promised this already a long, long time ago and now on special request here it finally is: the marble bag tutorial!

If there is anything unclear, please leave a message and I will try to clarify it.

A marble bag is a very easy thing to make and it is a great gift for your kids to give to their friends at school or at a party and they can also be used to put in other stuff (jewelry, little cars, cards etc.)…

What do you need (Materials):
- 2 pieces of coordinating or contrasting cotton (not too thin) fabric, 17x23 cm (± 6,7x9,1 inch);
- 50 cm (20 inch) cord (3-4mm thick);
- coordinating thread.
If you want a template to trace your fabric with (very easy if you make more than one bag), you will need a cardboard piece of 17x23cm.

Tools:
- Pinking shears;
- Ruler;
- Pen / Fabric marker / Fabric chalk;
- Sewing machine;
- Safety pin.

*Note* Wash and iron fabrics before cutting. Use 1 cm (½ inch) seam allowance throughout unless otherwise stated. Seam allowance is included in pattern pieces.

1. Measure and cut your fabrics with the pinking shears. If you like to make more marble bags, you can use the cardboard template to trace your fabrics.


2. Pin the two fabric pieces with the right (printed) side together. Mark a 5 cm distance below the top of the 23cm long side of the fabric.


3. Start sewing 5 cm (2 inch) below the top to leave a space for the cord later on.


4. Sew around the 3 edges, leaving the 5cm space open, sew the other side till the top and leave the upper side open.


5. Fold the fabric (on the 5 cm/2 inch open side) to the inside (along the seam) and topstitch 5 cm on both sides.


6. Turn the bag right side out.




7. Fold the fabric on the top side to make a tunnel for the cord (3 cm/1,2 inch), stitch around 2 cm/0,8 inch from the top.




8. Pull the cord trough the tunnel and make a knob on both ends (you can use a safety pin to attach the cord to and pull it easily through the tunnel).


9. If you like to fasten the cord, you can make a few stitches in the seam.


10. Finished! Attach a nice label to the bags and they are ready to give away!

Spring Birds

Wow, what a beautiful weather it was here Today! Feels finally like spring! And I guess that was what we all needed here.
To make the home a bit more spring-ish, I made these birds. Also to get in the mood for easter. And I made a template and working instructions for the birds for you as well. You can download it here in English or in Dutch.

Christmas Decoration Idea (5)

Today, I will explain you how to make these candle holders. Great to make together with kids, so perfect for the holidays.

All you need is:
* Some clean glass jars/pots (from babyfood, jam, desserts)
* Thin iron wire that can be easily formed by hand
* Stickers, glass paint, ribbon, glitters, glue etc....
* Little candles (waxine lichtjes in Dutch)

Embellish the jars with the stickers, ribbon, glitters, paint etc. of your choice.

Let them dry for a while before attaching the iron wire to it (or attach the wire first).
Make a loop from the wire and put this around the neck of the jar, twist it to fasten it around the jar. You can now make a loop from the remaining piece of iron wire if you bend the wire and attach the end piece to the other side of the jar.
Done! Ready to light the candles and sparkle up your christmas!
These candle holders are also great as a garden decoration.

Christmas Decoration Idea (4)

Feeling a lot better after a good night sleep, time for a new decoration idea.
For today an idea to decorate yourself with: a felt flower brooch. You can also make this flower with cotton fabrics, but I think a felt one is more wintery in a way.
Sorry for the bad pictures, it is quite difficult to make good pictures with the dark weather.

You need for the brooch:
Felt
Flower template (you can find it here)
Scissors
Needle
Coordinating thread
Brooch pin

What to do:
First print out the template and cut out the 3 largest flowers.
Trace the largest flower 3 times on your felt, the medium and the small ones both 2 times.

Cut out all the flowers.
Start your flower with laying a large flower flat. Fold another large flower double and place it on the flat one, sew these together.

Now, fold the third large flower 2 times double and place it on the others, sew them together.

Continue with the medium flowers in the same way and end with the smallest (while you are busy with the flower, you will see what is the best way to place your leafs).

When your flower is done, you can now attach it to the brooch pin.

You can also sew the flower on a piece of ribbon to make a napkin holder from it.

Christmas Decoration Idea (3)

This idea is not really for decoration, but it is a great way to use your fabric scraps for (which I always save, just in case.... you know....).

These scraps are just perfect to make your (christmas) gift labels with!
You will need:
- Cardboard gift labels
- Fabric scraps
- Ruler
- Fabric marker or chalk
- Pinking shears
- Glue

First, you measure how large your piece of fabric should be (depending on the size of your label). I left a 0,5 cm piece of cardboard free on the sides and on the bottom of the label and 2 cm from the hole to the upper piece of the fabric (I hope that this is clear....).
Trace this size on a piece of fabric and cut this out with the pinking shears.

Glue your piece of fabric on your label and it's ready to go with a present.

Also good with other fabrics of course.

Christmas Decoration Idea (2)

Today, I will show you how to make a fabric house ornament.
Great to make as a last-minute gift or to hang in your christmas tree.
This house is also perfect for other occasions, if you use different fabrics and embellishments.

What do you need?

- The house template (download it here, it includes 0,75 cm seam allowance).
- Felt (cutted with pinking shears), a piece of 3 x 4 cm for the door, a piece of 2,5 x 3 cm for the window.
- Fabric for the house, 2 pieces of ± 11 x 16 cm (can be the same or contrasting fabric).
- 1 button with diameter of ± 1 cm.
- Ribbon or cord (± 15 cm) for the hanging loop.
- Stuffing material.
- Needle, thread, siccors.
- Sewing machine.
- Embroidery thread, ribbon, beads, felt stars, trees etc. to embellish your house with.

What do you do?

1. Cut out the template and trace this onto your two pieces of fabric.
2. Cut out the two pieces of fabric.

3. Sew the door and window onto the front piece of your house (see template for position).
4. Hand-sew the button on the door. Embellish your house with the decoration of your choice (remember to not to embellish on the seam allowance of 0,75 cm, you won’t see it once your house is finished).

5. Pin the ribbon/cord loop (loop pointing inside) to the top of the roof.

6. Pin the two fabric pieces together, right side in.
7. Sew along the sides, leaving a 2 cm hole for turning.

8. Turn you house right side out.
9. Stuff you house to the desired thickness.

10. Top stitch around the whole house (to close the opening as well).
11. Ready is your house!

Have fun!

Christmas Decoration Idea (1)

I am trying to post a Christmas Decoration Idea each day of this week and I am starting of with this (very easy to make) christmas garland.
All you need is a piece of red felt, a piece of red and white bakers twine (available here) and siccors.
You can find the template for the stars here. On this website you can find many more great templates, ideas and decorations for different occasions by the way.
I used the medium star, traced it on a piece of cardbord and cutted it out. In this way you have a easy to use and reuseable template to trace the figure on your felt.
Now you can cut the stars out of the felt. To attach the stars to the twine, you need to make two small incisions in the top of each star (see picture).

All you have to do now is thread the bakers twine through the stars and ready is your garland.
To make your garland more colourful you can also use various colours of felt.
To make your garland more festive, you (or your kids!) can decorate the stars with sparkle/glitter glue.