Back on June 25th, I posted a photo of a colorful pile of approximately 110 feet of batik fabric covered clothesline. Here's the finished project. Isn't it pretty and summery? The process took a long time because with this techniques you don't simply wrap the fabric strips around the rope; you fold it and stitch it around and through the rope. Let me just say that this took a very l-o-n-g time. Next came the "easy" part, shaping the tote. My first attempt in class produced a tall, slender tote suitable only for perhaps carrying wine bottles. I was somewhat discouraged. When I returned home, I ripped out the assembly stitches down to the base which I then enlarged to a proper size. This time I got it right, and I am thrilled with the results. The only other difficult part came last night when I attempted to sew the buttons on. Ouch! Even with my trusty thimble it was difficult to attach them, but I think it gives it a more polished look.
Now for those who would like particulars, this was a "Bali Bags Fabric Covered Clothesline Crafts Tote Bag" pattern and the Bali Pops package I used was Mango Margarita sorted in color waves. The finished size is ten inches tall, seventeen inches wide, and eight inches deep. Here's a picture of it next to the cabinet mentioned in yesterday's post.
So this Saturday at the local farmers' market, I will be the one stylin' with this very cool tote.
