Christmas "present" bag

I like to make tote bags out of scraps. Something from nothing. Since I am not the Ugly Christmas sweater kind of gal, not since I stopped teaching middle school at least (smirk),  I wanted to wear something festive for the holiday.

The way I approached it, was to pull out the Christmas scrap bag. Take strips that were any width, but at least 30  inches long, and piece them lengthwise next to each other in a pleasing combination. Once I had a piece of pieced fabric about 17" by 30" I layered it with lining fabric, peltex stabilizer, and the top, like a quilt. I did simple quilting of straight stitch, first in the ditch with cotton, then metallic sliver down the middle of the strips for sparkle.

You might be able to see the quilting line if you click on the picture at right.
I made straps, which I'll save that tutorial another day. They were positioned with 11 inches of space left at the top to sit on a shoulder. Topstitched down.
I made the "ribbon" the width of my strip, crossed it over the strips,  and topstitched with a buttonhole stitch and hologram sliver thread in copper. The pin is a gift from a friend and since it puts holes in clothes, it now has a home!

Then I proceeded with making this quilt into a bag. RST, stitch sides with 3/8" seam. Cover with double fold bias tape and topstitch that down. (I''ll show you that later if there is interest) This finishes off the raw seam. Box the bottom, bind the top with my fast machine binding and same copper thread. Add a bow, and you're done! Could be done with any holiday fabric.

After things slow down a bit, I might make a video of some of the techniques, just to make it easier yet.
LeeAnna