Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

I spent the weekend making Teacher Appreciation gifts for my oldest to deliver at his pre-school "graduation" today.


One of his teachers has been eyeing my felted bag all school year, but I didn't have the time to knit a pillowcase-sized tote and felt it before the end of the school year.  So, I settled for cute little lunchbags for each teacher.


I followed roughly the same pattern I modified for the oilcloth-lined bags in my April giveaway. These bags above are made with canvas that I found on sale in the Walmart fabric department.  They had quite a selection of fun canvas colors and patterns. You can barely see the red flowered pattern at the bottom of the stack of straps in the first photo.  It's the same pattern as the black and white canvas, but with the base color being red and the flower pattern done in the white. I think this would make such a cute cover for a pair of foldable directors chairs.  Hmmm...I'm feeling a new project coming on.  In fact, I think my mom has a lonely pair of directors chairs hanging out in her garage that just might be due for a makeover.


And, who doesn't love a surprise inside their spill-proof lunch totes?   A little gingham in one and some fun polka dots in the other.  I just can't get enough of the oilcloth!  Most importantly, we slipped a card inside each one with the sentiment: "These bags were handmade for you with as much love as you have shown to Alex during his two years at school.  Thank you for all that you do." A sweet and simple gift to say thanks for a job well done.

3 comments:

  1. These are so cute! I am dying to make myself a couple for our teachers! What are the dimensions of these bags you made?

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  2. @Jessica, I'm so glad you like the bags. The overall dimensions turn out to be 11"(h) x 12.5"(w) at the widest point. The base of the bag is 9"(w). I achieve these dimensions by using lining pieces which are 14"x14" and outer pieces the same size. The outer pieces tend to be smaller because I sew two 7.5"(h)x14"(w) pieces together (the flowered = Piece #1; the black = Piece #2) together to make a 14"x14" outer piece. For straps, I use a piece 23"(l)x 5"(w). After these are folded in half with a .25" folded in on each side, the final strap is 2" wide. Hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have any other questions and how your bags turn out.

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  3. Thank you so much! I just got done making them and they turned out perfect! I like them so much I think I am going to have to make myself one! :)

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