I’ve been oogling bags that would brand myself ever further, shouting out my blog name to anyone that glanced my way. And then I thought, I should DIY one – and so I did:
The big canvas tote was on sale at Hobby Lobby, so I paid under $3 for it. It has a couple of pockets on the other side which is super awesome. I thought about sewing a bag, but you can’t beat that price!
For the flowers and buttons, I didn’t take any pictures. It was the day I was flying out to SNAP and I took it all to playgroup that morning – supplies, bag, glue gun, and got to work while the kids played. I made several different types of flowers (rolled fabric flowers, a folded fabric flower, and felt flowers). After making them I laid them out until it seemed about right. Then I hot glued them to the bag. Then I hot glued buttons around the flowers (way faster than sewing them all on!)
I have an embroidery machine – that’s why I thought I should make my own bag instead of buy one (if you want to buy one, the Nest of Posies ones are awesome). But the way an embroidery machine works is that you load in pre-set designs. I didn’t have my logo as an embroidery design, so I turned to Etsy where I found Digitized Delights – they will digitize a custom design. They were awesome to work with – I didn’t think of making a bag til late in the game, so they were great about rushing my order. And then when I ordered the wrong size, they resized it for me again. Awesome service! So if you need a design digitized, they’re your go-to. It was only $15 and now I have my digitized logo to use time and time again.
See how awesomely it sewed out – – love it!
I tested it first on some scrap fabric, and it sewed great. Then I moved on to my bag and my machine kept glitching on me – driving me crazy! I took a break for the night and tried it one more time the next morning – and it worked – phew. Trevor blogged about the crazy.
I really love using my embroidery machine (I have a Singer XL 1000 and it’s been great). The occasional glitching is a little problematic (maybe I just need to take it in for a tune-up?), so I’m semi-hunting for a new machine. It’s just such a $$ commitment that I’m hesitant to pull the trigger. Anyone have an embroidery machine that they love?
update – – I took the plunge with a new (to me) machine – – I bought a Bernina 730e and am super excited to see what it can do!
very nice bag!!!
Looks great! I’ve been wanting an embroidery machine for years!
Many, that bag is simply too adorable for words!!! Someday, if I ever learn to actually use the sewing machine I just got, I would love to get an embroidery machine. 🙂 Your logo looks great and thanks for sharing this super cute tote! Have a great week!
The post is very informative and valuable.
Thankes for sharing this amazing information.