I thought my readers might find it interesting to follow the progress of a project from beginning to end. So here is the beginning of one of my Marley Bags. The color scheme is reds, golds, brown and black. The fabrics have been laid in with antique lace and trims. All the pieces are pinned to a muslin backing. I am now ready to begin stitching.
I begin with tiny catch stitches to attach the lace and trims. Then begins the creative part... deciding which beautiful stitches and embellishments to use. You are seeing the overlap panel of the bag. The center patch of paisley silk is taken from a man's tie. The antique lace is laid across a patch of black linen and a handsome black and gold braid crosses over several of the patches. All these details will add interest to the overall design.
Now comes my favorite part - choosing the colors and stitches to embellish each patch. I have decided to keep the stitches and trims in the same color scheme as the bag to harmonize. The small photos at right are the patches that I have completed thus far.
The patch at the top is worked with an assortment of interesting buttons sewn in between the curves of a couched gold braid. It looks very smart against the rust corduroy.
The continuous chain stitch of a single strand of gold interwoven with a couched transparent tubular ribbon reminds me of a double helix.
The taupe silk patch is made more interesting with a bold cretan stitch with French knots and red sequins - very snazzy.
One idea leads to another, so the antique lace was edged in wavy back stitches and sparked with tiny gold beads.
Melissa and I sing together in the choir at the Cathedral of St. Philip, so I incorporated musical symbols and a swatch of fabric with music on it from a man's tie.
In the photo below, you can see that I have now attached the cotton lining in a complementary color scheme.
With many more stitches and the aid of my trusty Singer Featherweight sewing machine, the bag is finally sown together, piping is added to the front panel, handles are added and the final touch, an antique button and loop are sewn in. Front and back views below. Melissa was delighted with her new bag.
