Burlap Zipper Pouch Sets

For those of you in the U.S., I hope you're having a great holiday today! I spend the past few days in the northern part of the lower peninsula in Michigan. Every time I'm up at my in-law's cottage, it reminds me that it can be healthy (and productive!) to take a few days away from technology, work, sewing, and the day to day chores.  We brought our English Springer Spaniel puppy with us for her first experience, and she loved being able to run freely and play with our family's other dog for a few days.

Now that the weekend is mostly over, I'm stopping in to share a few photos of our latest burlap zipper pouch set available in our Etsy shop. It's summer, which means it's wedding season, and these pouches are extra handy when creating bridal party gifts or as favors for bachelorette party guests. Each pouch is made out of repurposed burlap and is lined with either a pattern or solid color fabric on the inside. If you're looking for a gift that could be given for a group, where each is uniquely different, these are perfect options for your event. These can be purchased in custom quantities as well, so you only buy what you need.

This week, I'm busy sourcing fun new lining fabric and zippers, along with sewing up several new burlap zipper pouches to have ready to sell. Aside from that, this past week I worked on creating more of the paper products that help Lina and Vi operate as a cohesive brand, including the hang-tags that tie to each of our products and fabric care inserts. Today, I'm spending my free time creating more fabric labels. Remember these? I shared a how-to a few months ago that you can check out here if you're looking for an affordable DIY on how to make something similar.

Thanks for stopping by,
Erica

Custom Burlap Bridesmaids Totes for Cali Wedding

This past weekend I wrapped up our custom bridal order. I'm here today to share a few photos of the finished burlap tote bags. They turned out fantastic, and I'm thrilled with how the map fabric looks  inside the bag. 

Each bag has the same exterior burlap print. You may recognize it from the Clean Sound and New burlap tote bag that I mentioned in my previous post. As part of the customization, I designed these to be specific dimensions, as requested by the bride, measuring 18" across, 14" tall, and 4" deep.

I must say that the real fun is inside of these bags. The lining is vibrant, colorful, and incredibly detailed. The map fabric is thick, very much like upholstery fabric, so it will withstand the wear that typically comes with pulling items in and out of a purse every day. One side of the interior features two slide pockets. Opposite these is a 9" metal zipper pocket. These three pockets combined with the 4" depth make for a lot of storage capacity. The additional space makes these bags functional for any type of occasion, even including as a library or teachers bag, a beach bag, an overnight bag, laptop bag, or even a diaper bag.  Lastly, the bag snaps shut with a silver magnetic snap closure.

This was a custom order where the bride knew exactly what she wanted for her bridesmaids, and I'm so happy that she loves how they turned out! I enjoy working with customers to help create custom bags and other burlap items that align with what they have in mind. Creating something custom is a unique way to put your stamp on a gift, whether there is a related event or not. Buying handmade nonetheless shows how much time, effort, preparation, and care goes into a gift to make it that much more meaningful.

Just like this order, we also do other custom bridal orders for our zipper pouches. Contact us at linaandvi@gmail.com or via our Etsy shop here for more information on quantities, options, and pricing.

Custom Bridesmaid Bags

This past week I have been busy with a custom bridal order for a customer who contacted me through our Etsy shop. I'm in the process of sewing four large burlap tote bags similar to the Clean, Sound, and New tote bag seen here that I had designed and sold this past week. These totes will be on the larger side, and they feature a beautiful world map printed fabric on the interior lining. This fabric was selected by the bride herself and came from our friends over in the U.K. to Michigan! I can honestly say that the fabric was well worth the wait of handling through customs (and the shipping cost), as this fabric is top quality and exactly what was needed. I'll have more details to share in addition to photos in the coming weeks as I finish the last half of these four burlap bags. I think her bridesmaids will love the look and unique design of these totes, and I'm excited to share them with her when they are complete.

Other than this custom bridal order, I've been shipping out several gift sets of our burlap zipper pouches this week to the point that the Etsy shop is now out of stock. Remember to follow us on Facebook for updates when more become available.  Individual zipper pouches are still available, and we do offer quantity discounts so contact me to get more information.

Sewing a Baptism Baby Dress

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on sewing on a  baptism dress for my niece and god-daughter, who was born in February and will be baptized at the end of June. Since June is a prime time for the Michigan summer heat to arrive, this dress was designed to be light and airy. This wasn't my first baby dress (you can see a past baby dress I've sewn here), however it was my first that would be used for a pretty significant occasion.

To sew this dress, I used a free baby dress pattern by Made by Rae available here as the baseline. It's very basic with a sleeveless, scoop neck top and an empire waist with a gathered skirt. I omitted the pocket, added a satin white ribbon at the waistline, tiered skirt, and cap sleeves in order to create this baptism gown. Honestly, these types of alterations aren't my strong points, so they were definitely a challenge for me, on top of having to sew at what felt like minuscule proportions for a five month old baby. This was a great learning project (and one that required a lot of time from my seam-ripper and my patience!)

The bodice, sleeves, and skirt panel are made from white cotton. The skirt tiers are made from an eyelet lace trim that I first basted  to the panel and then sewed in a three tier layer with a slight overlap between the layers. The top of the skirt panel is gathered to give it some volume and shape. The cap sleeves are self-drafted after doing a bit of research on how to add sleeves to children's clothing. Honestly, they are not perfect, and they are one of the last things I sewed to the dress. The hardest part of this dress was inserting the sleeves to the bodice, but in the end, I think they turned out great and should fit her well. On the back, you will see two visible buttons and one that is hidden under the first layer of the skirt to help with getting her in and out of the dress easily.

Despite how difficult parts of this dress were for me, the finished baptism dress is one of my proudest sewing creations. I had a vision for how it would end up looking, and this is completely on point which makes me feel like it was a success. I'm looking forward to seeing my niece wear it at her baptism!

If you have any questions about how I drafted, designed, or sewed any piece of this baptism dress, let me know and I'll be happy to share the details!

-Erica