Hand Dying with Indigo- Pretty Bird Burlap Tote Tutorial by Melony Bradley

Jenny’s Note: Today we have another fabulous guest tutorial by the talented Melony Bradley on behalf of Jacquard Products!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t seem to get enough of birds. And burlap. When I created these wool felt bird clips and
wedding table markers, I immediately fell in love with them and decided that I had to see them on some burlap totes. Enter Jacquard Products Indigo Tie Dye kit, which I played with this past Saturday.

Suddenly, I knew that I had to combine the three elements- wool felt birds, burlap and indigo. This is a project that makes me more eager for Spring than ever.

Hand dying results With plenty of dyed indigo scraps left over from my bird pillow project. I carefully tore some 2 1/2″ thick strips from
one of the fabrics to create “ribbons.”

Dyed indigo strips I used a sewing machine and contrasting thread (because I like this look) to straight stitch down the center and create knife pleats. This will be the handles and cuff for the bag.

Knife pleats Now, lets move on to the burlap bag itself. I decided on the size of my tote, which is about 5″ x 6″ and added 1/2″ for a seam allowance. Then I fused Lite Steam a Seam to a 4″ x 5″ rectangle of dyed indigo fabric and cut a 3 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ rectangle from that. Fuse the rectangle to the center of one of the burlap rectangles.

Machine stitch the fused square in place on the burlap by peeling off the paper backing
and using a straight stitch about 1/4″ from the edges of the indigo fabric.

Bird die cut The bird itself was cut from my all time favorite Sizzix Die and BigShot machine. I cut it from white wool felt. Pinning the bird in place on the indigo rectangle, sew in place with a straight stitch, leaving the bottom open for stuffing.

Stuff bird opening Stuff the bird with polyfil fiber (lightly) and sew opening closed with the machine.

Now, embellish the bird with a stuffed wing, a pretty flower center, and a scrap of
burlap. Don’t forget to add a pebble bead eye.

Embellish bird

Now its time to sew the front and back pieces of the bag together. Do this by turning the rights sides in and sew 1/2″ from the edges. Steam the seams open with an iron on steam setting.

Steam seams open
Turn the bag right sides out.

Turn right sides out
Use fabric glue to glue the knife pleated cuff to the top of the bag, covering the raw burlap edge. Cut pieces of knife pleated “ribbon” to
lengths measuring approximately 6″ and glue to the inside of the bag. Use a needle and thread, plus pretty flower centers to sew in place.

Sew on handles For a unique handle, cut a 1/2″ dowel rod to 8.” Use Neopaque by Jacquard Products in brown to paint the dowel.

Paint dowel Insert the rod into the handles and sew in place to secure.

Bird and Burlap Bag The combination of burlap, white wool felt and hand
dyed indigo makes a striking statement. My mind is already at work thinking of fun ways
to use the rest of my hand dyed indigo fabric!