Paper Pieced Tote Bag

I've a new found love - Paper Piecing or foundation quilting. 

Paper pieced quilts are made by sewing pieces of fabric onto a temporary or permanent foundation. You cut the fabric pieces according to the pattern and add in the seam allowance and sew along the drawn line on the pattern. When you use different fabric print and colour, it create some interesting pictures.

There are many free pattern available online for you to try it out.  I love this at Pinterest.  For a start, I decided to start simple and downloaded this free flower in a pot pattern to try.  It was supe easy since all the pieces are labeled so that you know which sequence come first.  It also helped to used up some of my odd shaped little scrape that I find it hard to tose away since they are so pretty.

After I've sewn it up, I was contemplating if I should just frame it or make it into a min quilt or bag for my mum. Since Mother's Day is coming, I had in mind to sew my mum something. She doesn't hang picture on walls except for family photos and she doesn't need a quilt. So, it will be a bag then.

I iron a medium weight interfacing behind the pieced flower motif and sew it to another fabric, Right side facing and then turn it Right side out to make into a big pocket for my little tote bag.

The bag has fleece padding inbetween the outer and inner layers. I sew the fleece to the Wrong side of the inner fabric with rows and rows of straight stitches. Added a pocket and sew the inner and outer bag together.

I was excited to try out my new pink leather handle straps which had to be sewn on by hand. It is a bit tricky to sew through the layers and although it looks crappy inside, it looks good on the outside though : )

I gave this bag to my mum for Mother's Day and she was very pleased with it : )

To all the Mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!