Paisley Tote Bag- Part 2 of 2

Laying out bright orange wool to make a small, flat sheet of felt.

Stitching basic paisley outlines onto the finished felt...

...and filling them in with more machine stitching.

The finished bag front...

...and back.

(Sorry for the washed out colors...the bag is actually brighter and darker than this.)

Peeking inside...

...and the back, again, in close-up.

I made a piece of flat felt in a brighter orange color...

...and traced paisley shapes onto it with a pencil.

I machine stitched around the perimeter of each design with contrasting thread...

...then filled in each shape with a different design.

I cut the paisleys from the sheet of felt...

...and appliqued them onto the finished bag.

You'll notice that the smallest paisley piece...

...acts as a dot for the letter "i" in "Jackie"! :)

It's quite a good-sized bag...

...and it's sturdy enough for a trip to the library or produce market.

Paisley Tote Bag- Part 1 of 2

Masking off sections of my resist in preparation for the layout.

Adding a pencil roving moniker and handle design...

...notice that I'm again working 'inside-out'. :)

After removing the paper and stones...

...covering the resist with sections of a batt made from orange wool and bright cotton dots.

Wrapping the resist in additional layers of fiber.

After felting and turning the tote 'right-side' out...

...trimming it...

...and stuffing it to hold its shape as it dried.

This is a Christmas project that I made for my dear friend Jackie...

...who just loves paisleys! :)

I used my usual circular tote bag resist...

...but marked off the handle area and added some writing, this time...

...prior to covering it in fiber.

After felting, but while it was still wet...

 ...I blocked the bag by stuffing it with cloth placemats...

...and steaming it into shape.

Next time: the paisleys!