tote bag tutorial & a seasonal recipe

I love shopping at my local farmers market and produce store, so I thought my next sewing tutorial for BraintreeClothing would be a classic tote bag, perfect for filling up with seasonal goodies.

Braintree kindly sent me two lovely striped men's shirts to upcycle into this tote bag. You could of course use any fabrics new or old.



Materials:
Fabric (I’ve used two different striped linen shirts)
Cotton webbing  (Navy 2 lengths 3 x 122cms)
Cotton thread (cream & navy)
Sewing machine
Scissors
Pins
Tape measure



How to: 
To start with, cut out your pattern pieces.
You will need two body pieces (pale stripes)  41 x 46cm , two lining pieces
(dark stripes) 41x 46 cm and 2 pocket pieces, 21 .5 x 35 cm.
I've cut my fabric out of two men's shirts, using the front, back panels and sleeves.

Hem the top of the body and lining pieces by folding down the top (short) edge by 2cm, Iron and sew along the top, repeat this with the two pockets.

Sew on the pockets.
Centre your pockets by Ironing the two body pieces in half lengthways, do the same with the two pockets. Open out  a body piece and lay the pocket  on top, matching up the creases and bottom raw edges.  

Pin and sew on the pocket, leaving the top open. Repeat on the second body piece.



Sew on the handles.
Take one length of webbing  (122 cm) and with the body piece facing up, align the webbing to the bottom raw edge, keep the webbing straight and cover the pocket seam until you reach the top, pin as you go. At the top make a loop for the handle (40cm appox) making sure you don't twist the webbing, carry on down the other side to the bottom raw edge.

With everything in place sew around all sides of the webbing attaching it to the fabric.

Repeat on the second body piece.

Sew the bag together.

With the body pieces face to face, match up the handles and the edges, pin it all together and sew around the three raw edges.  
Turn inside out and with an iron press sides and corners.



Lining
Put the two lining pieces face to face, neat hem at the top. Pin and sew around the raw edges.
(Do not turn out.) Insert the lining in to the bag, matching up the side seams, to attach the lining pin along the top and sew around the opening.

Give your new tote a press and you're ready to shop...

Remember to share any of your makes with us by uploading your images to Instagram including the hashtag #BThoughtful_Makes
  

This is 2 North Parade Produce Store in Oxford. Co-owned by my boyfriend Pete.

 'We work closely with local farmers, producers and suppliers who focus on the quality, integrity and provenance of their produce. Giving the customer the fresh taste of every season and the best artisan foods for your table'

I asked Pete to share his favourite seasonal recipe..

At the moment it's the asparagus season, we have freshly picked local asparagus delivered to the shop every morning, it's fresh, delicious and makes a great, quick, seasonal supper.

There are so many great ways to eat asparagus; with homemade hollandaise, butter and lemon, in a risotto, tossed in a mixed salad with mozzarella, but my favourite is the fresh, rich, salty contrast of asparagus, eggs and bacon.

Asparagus soldiers with soft boiled eggs.

You will need:
12 medium asparagus stalks, woody ends removed
12 slices of thinly sliced pancetta or bacon
olive oil
free range eggs
sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C. Wrap your asparagus stalks in the pancetta (or bacon) with the tips poking out, and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and roast in the oven for 10 mins, until crispy.

While the asparagus is cooking, Carefully place the eggs into lightly salted boiling water, for 5 minutes, drain, cut off the lids and put them in egg cups. Serve with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Dunk your asparagus soldiers into the soft egg and enjoy.

everyday things..

I hope you are all enjoying a lovely bank holiday weekend. It's been a gorgeous day here today, I've been at work but looking forward to Sunday off. What have you been up to? 

I've had a few stressful days recently, so it's nice to find simple pleasures in everyday things...
Here are a few photos from my recent days, picking daisies and forget-me-nots from the garden, presents from my mum's trip to Spain; Spanish Vogue, dark chocolate and sweet tortas. An old floral painting I found whilst tidying up, that's now pinned up on my bedroom mirror. Hanging out, drinking coffee at my boyfriends shop '2 North Parade Produce Store'
Pretty violas from my window sill, if you keep cutting the flowers, the more they keep flowering. I'm looking forward to planting some herbs soon, dill, chives, mint and thyme are my favourites. 



 

wild flowers

Pink lace brooch- listed here

 

wild·flow·er also wild flow·er  (wīld′flou′ər)

n.

1. A flowering plant that grows in a natural, uncultivated state.

2. The flower of such a plant.

 

It feels like spring is a long way off today, but in my sewing room I have colourful flowers everywhere. I've been drinking hot chocolate, sat at my computer adding lots of lovely handmade flower brooches to my ' found & sewn' folksy shop.



Vintage lace brooch- listed here

Flower brooch-beaded vintage lace- listed here



I have quite a collection of vintage wild flower books. I love learning the names of wild flowers like Venus's looking glass, Penny royal, Wild candytuft and Cloudberry.  I have already signed up to the Wildflowers count this year where you can take part in the UK's only annual national wild plant survey.



Some handmade lavender bags, pin cushions and brooches on my sewing room shelf.



Flower brooch- black beaded lace - listed here

to do lists

How's your January going so far? I know it's not most peoples favourite month, but I always think it's a good time to make plans, sort things out, make lists and look forward to the nicer months ahead.

I love buying new stationary and I've just bought a diary for 2014, I have so many notebooks it's ridiculous but I find I'm always jotting down ideas, places to visit, wish lists, new designs and general 'to do' lists, whether this makes me more productive, I'm not so sure...

I have just opened up a Folksy shop, have a look here. I'll be stocking it with lots more handmade items soon and I would love to sell more work online this year. Do you have an online shop, where you sell your own work? If you have any tips or advice, that would be great!

 

flowers everywhere

An extra hour to the day as the clocks have gone back for the winter months. I'm planning to use my extra time to get outside for a run across the park this morning, even if it's grey and windy. I feel like I've been stuck inside at work lately missing all the bright autumn days.

I bought this pretty loose uplifting petal tea the other day, I love the ritual of making it in my vintage rose cups, sometimes it's nice to take time with these things . On my floral theme, a beautiful pink orchid and my homemade liberty lamp brightening up the living room.  My desk is full of vintage flowers and lace as I've been making lots of vintage flower cards for the lovely Rosie B's in Chipping Norton.

What have you got planned for today? 


 

2 north parade produce store

Here's my lovely boyfriend Pete, looking very proud outside his new shop, which he has opened just a few weeks ago with his business partner Jojo. It's a produce store selling local bread, seasonal vegetables, Cotswold charcuterie, homemade cakes, British cheeses, wines and amazing coffee!

It's been really exciting going to flea markets finding old crates, tables and light fittings for the shop. It was once a butchers and the white tiles still remain now with veg prices written on. I think it looks amazing, but I probably would...

Pete and Jojo are really passionate about working with all these great local farmers and producers. You can just pop in to the store, get recipe ideas and have a chat about where the produce comes from. It's a lovely little shop with a friendly atmosphere. So if you are in the area, check it out.

2 north parade produce store, oxford, OX2 6LX. 01865 552311
northparade2@btinternet.com
follow them on twitter @2northparade.

jj

happy sewing

 

Can you believe the weather is still so hot & sunny! I can't wait to finish work each day, to spend the evenings outside. I love eating dinner in the garden and then going for a long walk over the meadow.

I have been sewing too and I've just finished some more of these sewing cases. I’ve made this one from lovely paisley fabric with a vintage lace trim and a ribbon tie.

Inside the felt pages you will find everything you need for a spot of sewing; colourful  threads, vintage buttons, hooks & eyes, needles & pins, seed beads, safety pins, lace and a few mini floral decorations.

I've added this one to my Etsy Shop ....happy sewing!

february flowers

Brrrrrrrr it's cold! The sunshine we had didn't last very

long, instead there is a flat grey sky and an icy wind that makes you want to stay wrapped up inside, but hopefully this drawstring bag will add a touch of spring to your day. The floral fabric is so cheerful, I've made a few pieces out of it, from little purses to lavender bags. This one has a vintage lace pocket on the front. 

I've made a few for myself too in all different fabrics and they are a great place to keep pretty underwear or hung up storing special bits and pieces in.

 

Keep cosy and warm x

shop update

A few little new season items for my etsy shop, I have made some more of my soft velvet and lace pincushions to sell. Take a look here.

 

They are a must for any craft room or sewing box to keep all your needles and pins safe while you are sewing away. I would be lost without mine.

But I also use these pincushions to keep brooches safe on my dressing table and these ones come with their own pretty vintage brooches and pins

The vintage tin I bought the other day has come in handy as a prop for these photos.I love setting up a photo shoot.

 

Happy Pancake day! I'm off to eat as many as I can make...yum.