Lavender bag 16

Next, gently, turn the bag inside out through the gap that you left in the side.  The corners will need a bit of a push from the inside to get the correct shape.  You could also decorate by sewing a button on.  N0w iron the bag (cover with a cloth to protect) to remove the creases.

The next step is to fill the bag with Lavender flowers, a funnel can be helpful for this. Once the bag is filled sew the side seam neatly together with small stitches.  

These bags can be used to scent drawers, or with a ribbon can be hung over a clothes hanger in the wardrobe.  These decorative bags can also be hung on internal door handles. 

Lavender bag 15

Trim the sides a little to neaten and diagonally trim some of the excess fabric from the corners.  I then over sew round each of the edges so that these don't fray.  This isn't as much sewing as it seems, it doesn't take so long.   You might choose to machine sew these steps though. 

Lavender bag 14

Sew together by stitching around the line of the pins, remember to leave quite a large gap so that you can turn the bag inside out later.  Put some extra stitches in for strength at the point where your ribbon loop is stitched in, also at the edges of the gap you leave for turning the bag inside out.  You will need to make your stitches quite small, so the the lavender flowers that you fill it with don't fall out.  I sew round twice, so that it's quite firmly closed up.

Lavender bag 13

Pin the appliquéd square to the plain square, with the appliquéd side of the decorated square facing inwards.  If you want to add a a hanging ribbon you will need to insert it in a loop, trapped between the two layers at this point, the cut edges will stick out at the top corner as shown. 

You will need to leave quite a large gap on one side, so that you can turn the lavender bag inside out after you have sewn it together.  You can see this gap on the lower right hand side here.  

I will be hand sewing this lavender bag, but you could machine sew the two pieces together instead.  If you want to machine sew it, then you may want to zig - zag round the edges of each square before fastening them together so that they don't fray. Trim the corners off at an angle first if you are going to do this, see later stages of hand-sewing instructions for details.

Lavender bag 12

Neatly hand sew round the edge of each of the butterflies, attaching them to the backing fabric.

Lavender bag 11

Gently place the damp tea towel over your design, without disturbing it.  Steam iron until the tea towel is nearly dry.

Lavender bag 10

Lay out your butterflies for your design, you need to leave a clear margin round the edge for sewing the bag together.  I'm doing this design on the diagonal so that I can fit a ribbon to hang this from.  If you don't want a hanging ribbon then you may prefer to do a square design.  If you hang the bags from a ribbon they can either be hung over a door handle or hung from a clothes hanger in the wardrobe.

Lavender bag 9

Now for the fiddly bit... Use your fingernail to gently remove the backing paper, without damaging the butterfly.

Lavender bag 8

I like to cut out quite a few at the same time, as you can use these for any appliqué project.

Lavender bag 7

Your bondaweb should now be firmly stuck to the back of your printed fabric.  Now cut out your butterflies, leave a small margin round the edge of them when cutting out.

Lavender bag 6

Cover the fabric and bondaweb with a damp cotton cloth (a tea towel works well), steam iron until the tea towel is nearly dry.

Lavender bag 5

Cut out a piece of the vilene bondaweb, place it rough side down onto the back of the printed fabric. 

Lavender bag 4

You also need a printed fabric, these are cotton quilting fabrics, but any small printed fabric that you like can be used.

Lavender bag 3

Cut out two squares from your plain cotton fabric, to make a bag that's 3 and a half inches (9 cm) square you will need to cut out squares that are about 5 inches (12 cm) wide.

Lavender bag 2

To make an appliquéd lavender bag you will need:

A plain cotton fabric

A printed cotton fabric

Bondaweb

Steam iron and ironing board

Thread

Scissors

Sewing needle and a few pins

Dried lavender flowers  

A button (optional)

Ribbon (optional)

Crafty Tip: turn your old Christmas cards into gift tags

Don't waste your Christmas cards when you take them down this year, turn them into next years gift tags instead. 
Use crimping scissors, a guillotine or scissors to cut the decorative front covers of cards down to a smaller size, depending on the design of the card this may make several tags. Next use a hole punch to make a hole, thread ribbon through the top and you have your gift tags ready to use for next year.

Scented Lavender bag with appliqué butterflies

A hand sewn lavender bag with appliqué butterflies, I'll go through step-by-step later this week...

I have always enjoyed making things and being creative, it's a great way to relax and feels very satisfying when you complete a project and see the end result.  Small and varied projects are easy to complete, so I can have a 'hobby a week' without having to wait too long to see the end result!

I found it quite difficult to find ideas for small projects online, often finding an idea that I adapted, so thought I'd share the the things that I am making.