Hand Dyed Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bags

When I saw Jeni's tutorial for the wine bottle gift bag version of her indispensable and versatile lined drawstring bag pattern, I knew it was the perfect use for my small stash of hand dyed fabric. 

I created these designs in an amazing workshop with Kim Eichler-Messmer on itajime, arashi, and machine sewn shibori indigo dyeing over nine years ago. 

Itajime shibori uses folding and clamping fabric to create resists in interesting patterns. It is easiest for beginners to accomplish with small pieces of fabric, so I dyed mostly fat quarters. This project is ideal for that size fabric. It was meant to be.

Sandhill Sling

Do people even blog anymore? I'm really not made for shortform, or heavens knows not longform, video, so I may be a blogging holdout.

I made a version of the Sandhill Sling by Noodlehead. The Echino print was always going to be good, and I like the contrast of the Art Gallery lining.

This was my first foray into metal look zippers, and I found it surprisingly easy to work with.

The curved corners on the sling were a challenge just because of the multiple layers of fabric and interfacing, but the pattern is well written. It even has QR codes to take your to YouTube demo videos of tricky steps, which I definitely watched. I don't think I'm a bag person, guys. But I'm glad I finally finished this WIP.