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I've been busy adding to my collection of wicker bags and baskets for sale, all of which have had a thorough wash and brush up and a new lining added, with pockets where possible and new fastenings if necessary. They'll be coming with me to the Helen Rollason Charity Vintage and Makers Day Out at Cressing Temple on 13th July, should you be free! Or following that will be listed mainly on Folksy with a couple on my website and a couple possibly on Etsy.      
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This year I shall be mostly turning preloved to reloved tired vintage wood, wicker, straw and rattan bags by adding new embellishments and linings. Making existing items pretty, practical, lovable and functional once more, using less of the world’s resources and creating unique one-off pieces to enjoy! Each bag will be carefully chosen, delicately cleaned, sympathetically mended and re-lined with a pretty colourful cotton fabric in keeping with its age. Each one will have: *A genuine vintage wicker, rattan or wooden outer. *A contemporary or repurposed vintage fabric lining. *A soft interior wadding to cushion your belongings. *An interior pocket or two, one zipped, one elasticated. *And of course any major flaws will be carefully described. Please remember these are vintage items, up to 75 yrs old! Use them for special occasions and treat them with love!❤️
Here's some I made earlier!
And here are a couple waiting for their turn to be beautified!
...at the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity Vintage Day Out on Sunday 14th July? The sun shone, the music and dancing on the green was fabulous, (I was right by the door so had a ring side seat), there were three sets of classic cars to stroll around and admire, oodles of vintage and plant stalls to browse and food and drink to consume. Everyone was so appreciative of my efforts, stopped to admire my work and chat and I made some sales, which is always a bonus. A big shout out to Sharon & Brett from Manningtree Vintage Vibes, a clothing shop, who were opposite me and made the day more enjoyable and to the staff and volunteers of the Charity who made the day such a success!  All set up in the Wheat Barn and ready to go! Please note vintage attire for the day and usual aging hippy look swapped for 40's/50's housewife!
Remember how forlorn the little wicker bag looked a few posts back? So here we have it washed and brushed up, cleaner but still with that lovely aged patina. I found a way to attach a new leather strap (the old strap was beyond redemption) so no more turning upside down! I tacked the pretty lining with an elasticated pocket inside. Wielding a hammer in such a small space proved tricky, and I bent as many tacks as I used! It was a satisfying task, to make it lovely and useable once again. What do you think? I've made a little boat out of cotton fabric-well that's what it looks like! It has an elasticated pocket one side and a little bit of wadding between the layers. I decided to use tacks to fix it into the bag rather than attempt to sew through the slats. It was fiddly trying to place the tacks and keep them upright and then hit them with the hammer (Not my forte!)
Just the lid to do now, plus solving the little problem of how to attach some loops for the new handle to clip on to. Please come back for Part Four!
Firstly I took it into the garden and removed as much dust as I could with a stiff clothes brush. It then had a gentle wash with an old washing up brush. I let it dry then carried out a second wash. It certainly looks brighter, but its difficult to clean between the individual canes. I decided that would do, as a certain amount of patina is expected on vintage items.
I then tackled the brittle leather strap, applying first a neutral then a brown polish. It has become more pliable, but I think would still eventually break with use, so I'll ditch that and use a shiny new adjustable cross body brown leather strap instead!
I then made some paper patterns for the lining, which will be double sided so that I can sandwich a thin layer of wadding between the two sides and it won't show from the outside. Come back later to see what's next!
I've bought a cute but old, tired, dusty, dirty little wicker handbag with a crusty, hard, inflexible leather strap that looks as though it may have once had a buckle and has been attached in a Heath Robinson way to the base so when you hold it the bag tips upside down! K. Oliver used to own it (whoever she may be) as she written her name on it three times! The bag is more or less structurally sound, but just needs some Toots Totes magic. I intend to transform it into something lovely and useful once more.  It has potential, but needs some Toots Totes magic!
First job is to start dismantling. Luckily the lid is easily removable and I remove the decorative cane on one side, where it remains, so it matches the other side and the the strap is easier to take off without damaging it. Before cleaning I need to try and stabilise any damage with wood glue. Luckily it's mostly intact.
Come back later to follow the process and the progress!
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!
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.
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! I hate clearing up the aftermath of Christmas crackers-it's all so wasteful and the plastic nic-nacs all go into landfill. So I made my own reusable crackers this year from dupion silk! I didn't put a snap in but the velcro makes a satisfying rip! I filled them with chocolates, printed off the worst Christmas jokes I could find and made paper hats from coloured tissue. They went down a storm and the best bit is that i have them for next year too! The immediate family also decided to give eachother consumable treats, rather than spending money on things none of us needed, only problem with that was that I then put on far too much weight!!
It is estimated that in the UK we use 227,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper a year, much of which is not re-cyclable. Using a Wrap Sack is an easy eco-swap and can be used for years to come, so a good investment! Less paper to stuff into the waste and a pretty alternative wrapping. These Christmas Wrap Sacks handmade by Toots Totes, in Emma Bridgewater designed cotton fabric and fully lined in a lovely coordinating spotty cotton are topped off with a burgundy ribbon and could be sitting pretty under your tree this year! They measures about 30 or 40cms across and about 30 cms from below the ribbon gather. £20 & £25. Head over to MyFlair.uk to purchase or contact me via [email protected] Holly and Sampler can be made in other sizes-just ask!
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Hello, I'm Ruth Overton. My nickname as a child was 'Ruthie Toots' which is how the name Archives
July 2025
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