STITCH & FLUTTER
Foundation piece a pretty and practical butterfly tote bag to carry around your quilty essentials
Foundation piece a pretty and practical butterfly tote bag
FIND THE FOUNDATION PAPER PIECING TEMPLATES FOR BOTH BUTTERFLY STYLES ON P84!
YOU WILL NEED
Makes one (1) tote bag
⬛ Background fabric: one (1)
fat quarter
⬛ Print scraps for the butterfly
⬛ Bag back fabric: 13in x 16in
⬛ Lining fabric: two (2)
13in x 16in pieces
⬛ Iron-on interfacing: two (2)
13in x 16in pieces
⬛ Handle fabric: two (2)
6in x 26in pieces
⬛ One (1) copy of either the Emperor or Peacock Butterfly FPP template Sections A–D
FINISHED SIZE Q Approx. 15½in x 12½in
NOTES
⬛ Seam allowances are ¼in,
unless otherwise noted.
⬛ Press seams to one side,
unless otherwise instructed.
⬛ FPP templates include seam allowances
around the outer edges only.
⬛ For templates, see p84.
⬛ FPP = Foundation Paper Piecing.
⬛ WST = wrong sides together.
⬛ Fabrics supplied by Fat Quarter Shop
(fatquartershop.com)
FABRICS USED
⬛ Print fabrics are from the Road Trip collection by Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics, in Apples in Tarte and Sharp, Tuesday in Risk and Woods, Twenty in Companion and Fire, Daydream in Mystery and Union Jack in Happy.
⬛ Solid fabrics are both Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Limestone and Pickle by Robert Kaufman.
FOUNDATION PAPER PIECING
1 Using the template as a guide, cut the fabric pieces for each section of the FPP template, making sure the pieces will be at least ¼in larger than the section they will cover, all the way around.
2 Foundation Paper Piece Section A as follows. Place the fabric piece for Section 1A right side up on the unprinted side of the template against the section. Ensure that the fabric covers the whole section, plus at least ¼in all around. Pin in place.
3 Place the Section 2A fabric piece right side down on top of the Section 1A piece, matching up raw edges on the side where Sections 1 and 2 will be joined and making sure that when folded back along the seam line, Section 2 will be covered by the fabric plus at least ¼in all around. Pin in place.
4 Turn the template over to the printed side and stitch along the marked line between Sections 1 and 2 backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam. Fold the template away from the seam and trim to ¼in. Fold the template back, turn the work to the fabric side, flip Section 2 open and then press. 5 Continue working in this way to piece the remaining sections on the FPP template, in numerical order. Trim along the dotted seam allowance line.
6 Repeat steps 1–5 to piece each of the butterfly template Sections A–D.
7 Pin together completed sections A and B, carefully matching points at the ends. Return your stitch length to its normal length for piecing. Sew the pinned Sections A and B together. Remove the paper from the seam only and press the seam open.
8 Repeat step 7, adding Section C to Section D. Then sew Section AB to Section CD to complete the block. Trim around the dashed lines on the template
to make a 13in x 16in tote front. Remove the papers and press (Fig A).
MAKING THE TOTE BAG
9
Fuse the interfacing onto the wrong side of your pieced front and tote back pieces, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
10
Fold your handle strips in half, WST along the long edges and press. Fold the raw edges into the centre crease and press again. Topstitch down both long edges, leaving the short ends open (Fig B).
11
Pin the two ends of one handle to the top edges of the butterfly block, 1¾in from each edge. Stitch in place within the seam allowance (Fig C) and repeat with the second handle and back piece.
12
Pin the tote front and back right sides together and sew around the sides and bottom edge using a ¼in seam allowance. Clip the corners and turn right side out. 13
Repeat step 12 with the two lining pieces, leaving a 4in turning gap in the bottom seam. Clip the corners and leave wrong side out.
14
Insert the tote exterior inside the lining, right sides together. Match the side seams and pin along the top raw edges, tucking the handle down into the tote (Fig D). Sew around the top edge and carefully turn the tote right side out, through the gap in the lining.
15
Hand stitch the opening closed and push the lining inside the bag. Press and topstitch around the top edge to finish.