Monday Makes: Lavender Bags

Here we are, the much anticipated lavender bags. If you read my review of Sew! by Cath Kidston, you’ll know that this is one of the lovely projects from that book – the easiest one I’d say.

Anyway, you can make these by hand or use a sewing machine. You’ll need:

(per bag)

Template drawn onto greaseproof/tracing paper (I used the heart one here)

2 x 20cm squares lightweight fabric

Matching thread

15cm length of ribbon or tape (optional)

35g dried lavender

Fading pen

Sewing kit and/or machine

Firstly, place the two squares of fabric back to back and then pin on the template. Draw round using a fading pen, then cut out leaving an extra 1cm or so seam allowance. Remove the template then pin the two hearts back together and stitch all the way around the line, leaving a gap of approx. 4cm on one of the straight edges. Remove pins. Now trim the seam back to around 5mm and make notches around the top curves of the heart (this makes the seams lie flatter). Press back the seam around the opening and then turn carefully inside out, so that your fabric is now facing outwards. At this point you can use a teaspoon to fill the bag with lavender. When you’ve done that you’ll need to slip stitch the gap (this is where mine started to look a bit amateurish – need to practice that I think).  If you want to add a hanging loop, then fold your length of ribbon in half and stitch neatly to the top of the heart. Et, voila!

I’d say you can knock one of these up in about half an hour if you have no interruptions. I’m planning to perfect these and make lots of them.

Thoughts of a frustrated crafter

That’s me, by the way, and I don’t want to be frustrated no more. The long and short of it is that I would LOVE to be a crafty, creative type person, the kind who regularly knocks up a cushion cover or rustles up a tray of scrummy cakes, but I never seem to get round to it.

Like a lot of mums, I’m busy doing mundane, usually kid-based stuff. This includes: the school run,  changing nappies, loading the dishwasher, feeding chickens, feeding children, ironing, washing and so on and on. Every so often I see a magazine article or come across a great craft blog and think ‘ooh, that looks nice, I could make that’ and then that’s as far as I get. The day to day stuff seems to take over.

During the summer holidays, I had big plans (sad I know) to make a doorstop for my very swingy living room door. Simple, eh? I tracked down a good ‘how to’  blog and even rooted out some suitable fabric. So far so good. But is my door now safely wedged by a lovely new doorstop? Is it heck. No, this is another project awaiting completion (or in fact awaiting commencement).

I have the tools. A sewing machine.  A fabric stash. Knitting needles. A fairly well stocked sewing box. What I don’t have, it seems, is the creative  momentum that is needed to get started and I can’t work out why.

It’s funny really. I can make lots of time to spend two or three hours watching crap telly each evening. I also find time to blog and google and tweet (impressive, eh?) and most amazing of all, I can get up at 6am and go for a run. However, none of these activities provide me with that sense of pride that you get when you create something from more or less nothing.

With long winter nights ahead and Christmas looming, I think now would be a good time to start. So, today’s post is a plea for help (again) from all of you makers and shakers out there. I would love to hear about what you’re all making and hopefully find some much needed inspiration. Happy crafting.