Riley Blake Blog Tour- Dream Weaver

Hi, Everyone!  Today is my turn on the Riley Blake Designs Blog Tour for Dream Weaver by Amanda Castor.  

Photo Credit: Riley Blake Designs

I love the rich, beautiful colors in this line and I was really excited to make something with it.  I decided to make a trio of project bags and I'm looking forward to using them all the time!!

I looked through many, many patterns before I decided on these.

First, I wanted a large bag that could hold handwork projects.  I chose the Riverside Tote by Amy Sinibaldi.  

This bag was a good size and I really liked the easy construction.  One of the things I dislike the most about bag making is how you usually have to turn the bag right side out through a small whole.  It is a technique that is often necessary and it works nicely but I always struggle with getting the bag though the hole.  This bag does not rely on that technique and it turns out SO pretty and sturdy.  It was fun, quick, and stress free to make.  The only difference is instead of using the fusible interfacing/batting, I substituted By Annie's Soft and Stable.

Next, I made the Booklet Pouch by Aneela Hoey.  

This past Christmas, I made one as a gift and I really liked how it turned out so I knew I'd make more of them in the future.  This seemed like a good time. I made the larger size so the pouches could hold lots of supplies for EPP or cross stitch.

The final thing I made is 4 project bags to go in the large tote.  

I've seen these bags around quite a bit lately and wanted to see how they work.  I made one to try it and really liked it so I made 3 more with the remaining fabric I had.  I found a bunch of patterns, but in the end, I customized it to the supplies I had and what I needed them for.  I wanted them to fit in my large tote but also be large enough to hold all of the things I needed for one project.  I added handles to make them easy to grab out of my bag or hang up if I wanted.  Each one measures about 14" square.  Also, I used By Annie Soft and Stable in place of batting here as well.  You can find tutorials for these- HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The project bags and booklet pouch fit into the large tote bag and there is still plenty of room.

I've never made anything like any of these bags for myself and I'm so, so happy to have them and even more happy to use them!



Talk to you soon,


Jessica