Bohemian Festival Bag

Other Supplies

Denim Tote Bag - approximately 14” x 16”, 6” Embroidery Hoop, 8” x 8” Piece of cotton fabric for pocket lining, Scissors, Pouncers/Spouncers® or stencils brushes– 1/8”, ¼” and ½”, Stencil Tape, Assorted yarns to match floss colors from kit (10 – 20 yards of 5 – 6 colors as desired; this is prefect use of left over skeins), Fork to make pom-poms

Instructions

1. Stitch denim embroidery, following directions included in the kit. Set aside until later. Save instructions and left over floss to use when embellishing the stenciled bag.
2. Wash bag and let dry completely.
3. Using the photograph for design placement, tape stencils to tote to prevent movement of stencil.
4. It is helpful to stencil a base coat of white when stenciling on a dark background. Apply a light coat of Wicker White to desired design areas, do not remove stencil. Let dry completely.  Keep stencil in place for applying the remaining colors.
5. Referring to photo, apply the various stencil designs. It is recommended to stencil each individual Suzani design. Use a clean ¼” Spouncer for each color. Colors may be blended and layered for a “tye-dye” effect. Example: Green with yellow, Yellow with Orange or Pink with purple.
6. When a stenciled area is complete, carefully remove the stencils and let dry completely.
7. Reposition stencil as needed and repeat steps 3-6.
8. Refer to photo for stitching placement or feel free to embellish as desired, using the instructions for embroidery stitches and left over floss from kit.
9. Use 6 stand of floss to create running stitches, straight stitches, and French knots in and around the various design elements of the motifs.
10. To create the pocket, use pocket pattern as a template, cut shape of pocket from the embroidered denim piece and fabric for pocket lining. Place the two pieces right-sides together and sew a running stitch or machine stitch ¼” from the edge of the fabric on all sides.
    • Make sure to leave a 3" opening along the top edge of pocket to turn right side out.
11. Using an iron, press the backside of the pocket flat.
12. Turn under the open edge and sew seam closed.
13. Stitch along the edge of the pocket using six strands of the bright green floss form the kit.
14. Pin the pocket to the front of the bag. Using the blanket stitch, attach pocket along three sides with 6 strands of the Bright Blue floss.
15. Roll the edges on your bag handle to form a tight cord. To start off the cord, you can secure with a small piece of the stencil tape.  Start as close to the base of the handle as possible. Tie one end of one color of the yarn around the cord and wrap around the handle very tightly.
16. When you desire to change color tie the end of the yard to the next desired color and continue wrapping.
17. When handle is completed tie off yard and add a dab of glue to knot to secure, let dry.