With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I know that I’m always looking for a unique, thoughtful, heartfelt gift to give those that I love. And when it comes to hand-made, I definitely like to add easy to the list of adjectives. So, this year, I decided to use the embroidery feature on Alfonso
to create a one-of-a-kind Embroidered Wine Bag with a B on it for my last name, Boudreaux. What you’ll need:

• Two 15” x 18” rectangles of fabric (one for outside and one for lining)
• One 15” x 18” rectangle of interfacing (I used a lightweight woven)
• One 3” x 30” of fabric (I used the same fabric as my lining)

Products Used

• Brother SE1900 (aka Alfonso)
  
• Brother Designio 50-piece Embroidery Thread Set (I used Light Blue, Moss Green, Tangerine, Lilac, Cream Brown and Pink)
• Preprogrammed “B” in Machine Brother SE1900
  
• Brother Medium Weight Tear Away Stabilizer

Embroidery

• Once you have your fabric and interfacing cut out, fuse the interfacing to the exterior fabric rectangle.
• Center the stabilizer and exterior panel (with the 15” on the top and bottom and the 18” on the sides) on the embroidery hoop. I folded two center creases on the exterior and used that to center the fabric with the hoop.
• Follow the prompts on the machine, changing the thread as required, and enjoy.

Button Holes

• Using a ruler 3.5” down from the top edge of the exterior panel, mark 1/2” at 7” and 8”. These are the marks for two 1/2” button holes.
• Extending the button hole foot 1/2”, line the red lines up with the end of the mark. I used the long skinny rectangle button hole stitch and the same main embroidery thread from before. Do this for both button holes.
• Using a seam ripper or scissors, cut the opening making sure not to cut the thread.

Sewing the Bag

Squaring off the Bottom

• Starting with the exterior panel, fold in half lengthwise right-sides together and stitch up the bottom and side seams using a 1/4” in seam allowance.
• Take each bottom corner, placing the bottom seam in the center. With a ruler, place the 2” mark on the stitch line and maneuver the corner until it is 2” on both sides of that line. Mark that line.
• Stitch over both lines, backstitching at both ends. It might benefit the integrity of the bag to stitch the line multiple times.
• Trim off the excess of both corners leaving 1/4”.
• Repeat these steps with the lining panel.

Attaching the Lining

• Turn the lining right-side-out and stuff inside the wrong-side-out exterior.
• Using a 1/4” seam allowance, stitch around the raw edges, leaving a 1-2” gap with no stitches.
• Pull both the exterior and lining through the gap.
• Stuff the lining inside of the exterior and press the top seam making sure to also press the fold for the raw edges of the gap.
• Edge stitch the top seam.

Finishing Touches

Stitching the Tunnel

• Using a ruler, mark a line going all the way around the bag starting and stopping at the top and bottom of the button holes.
• Stitch these lines, back-stitching at both the beginning and the end.

Preparing the Tie Strip

• Fold the strip lengthwise and stitch up the raw edges at 1/4” seam allowance, leaving a 1-2” gap without stitches in the center of the long side.
• Use the gap to turn the tie strip right-side-out and press.
• Edge stitch around the perimeter of the tie strip.
• Using a tool or safety pin attached to the end of the strip, insert the tie strip into the tunnel, tie a bow and enjoy.

Whether the recipient of this gift drinks wine or not, this is definitely a bag that anyone would cherish. So Happy Stitching, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Keep it Positive.