Category: Emma Bridgewater Fabrics

What? Feb already?

31/1/2022

January is often a bleak and non-productive month for makers, after the Christmas rush!
I'm happy to say my lovely clients have kept me quite busy, providing ready made and bespoke items. I've also had a sale on Etsy and MyFlair, which always drums up some interest!

Popular pink sampler fabric purse.

Emma Bridgewater Hellebore fabric purse.

The Year Ahead Now I'm looking ahead to the coming year, hoping to attend a few more fairs. I have just applied to the Braintree Textile Fair, hoping I may secure a pitch there. It's a great event and back in full force after a couple of years when events were difficult to arrange due to the unmentionable! Click on the link HERE to find out more about this year's event.

Vintage sewing pattern made with preloved fabric

Refurbished with a vibrant Marimekko fabric.

Sustainability And then there's my vow to be more sustainable. I already use eco-friendly wrapping, that can be recycled or reused, now I am looking to find some more sustainable ways of creating items. I have in the past, used preloved fabrics and woollens, so there will be a bit more of that, certainly.
Refurbishment I am also offering a free refurbishing service for Toots Totes bags you may have bought from me in the past that need a new zip or lining to make them last longer rather than you buying new. My bags are made to last with the best fabrics and threads and strong construction methods, so they'll stand up to that challenge!
Furthermore I intend to find sad and unloved wicker handbags to clean and refurbish giving them a new life. Watch this space!

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Waste not want not

2/11/2020

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All now SOLD
Keen to use every scrap of Emma Bridgewater fabric I had. (All NEW fabrics here!) I've been making some cute little purses. Let me know if you'd like one: sizes and prices below the pics!

Emma Bridgewater Pomegranate fabric. Measures 9x8x1.5 inches. £19.50

Emma Bridgewater Hellebore fabric, measuring 8.5x6x1.5 inches £18.50 each or both for £30

SOLD Emma Bridgewater Dresser fabric. Message if you'd like something similar. (£17.50-£19.50 depending on size)

Sumptuous silk lining in yellow shot with red or is it red shot with yellow?

One with spotted cotton lining and the other with rich red silk lining.

Vibrant red spot cotton lining

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Reclamation

2/11/2020

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UPDATE: Both now SOLD
With the Emma Bridgewater fabric being oh so popular I was on a mission to find some more. Frustratingly it was very difficult to find and the smallest pieces were going for mega-bucks!
Then I chanced on a cushion cover that had used a whole width of the fabric, so a massive cushion and lots of fabric for me to re-purpose. (Who needs another cushion when you can have a unique Tansy Tote?) I checked with the seller that it was in good order and purchased it at a fair price. I was a little caught out as there were some marks along the bottom I couldn't wash out, but I cut them off and there was still plenty left to make two Tansy totes.

With a soft wadding and plastic reinforced base to give some substance, leather handles and lovely purple or pink spotted cotton lining, they were great fun to make!
The pink version has an additional feature of the design details down the side and shows no obvious signs of its previous incarnation as a cushion cover.
Please note that the purple version has some stitching lines from it’s previous incarnation as a cushion, (e.g. see pic , running from cats ear upwards, which also extends down the side to the base). It doesn't spoil the overall look of the bag and if that doesn’t bother you and you’d like to add one to your collection or tick someone off your gift list, please message me below for more pics or to purchase:

👛£60 (inc UK p+p) 👛

Click on pics to see whole picture.

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Author

Hello, I'm Ruth Overton. My nickname as a child was 'Ruthie Toots' which is how the name
Toots Totes'
came about!
I come from a family of artists and artisans and the creative gene has resulted in a desire to make stuff. There's nothing I love more, than to sit at my old treadle machine, sewing. It was handed down to me, through the family having been bought by my Grandad for Grandma in the 1930's. (See my blogs about the machine here.)
More recently I have turned my attention to designing and creating bags and 'Toots Totes' began.
I'm going to blog about how ideas for bags come about and how things happen in the sewing room, so join me there if you want to, or bypass this to go to the store or the gallery, if you prefer - I won't mind!

What? Feb already?

Waste not want not

Reclamation

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