Hello there Friend,

Are you ready for another fabric tour? Today’s feature is a mighty fun one!

In last week’s teaser I shared some of the Oh What Fun fabric collection. I just couldn’t keep the surprise to myself. The Christmas themed fabric collection is full of old-fashioned details and fun new additions, too. This collection just has it all. Large designs, small blenders, bold blue balanced with soft whites. It was very easy to sew with them because I did not have to substitute any prints for less catchy designs. They all work so well together.

Here they are, the main focus of today’s Oh What Fun Fabric Tour! The fabrics were designed by Elea Lutz for Poppie Cotton.

To highlight these fabrics, I came up with a new sewing pattern. If you’ve been around my sewing account for a while, you may recognize the idea. While the concept is not new, it is one that I have kept in mind for just the right moment.

Over the years I have shared (on Instagram) some of the special holiday traditions we do with our kids to keep the season full of fun things to do. One of the traditions I’ve shared is a reusable Santa styled bag. It’s very special and only has one purpose. Let me tell you all about it.

I’ll have to start by saying this, my daughters see me sewing all year long. They very often ask me if the items I make are for them. Sometimes they are but most often I’m sorry to say they are not. I might be sewing for clients, companies or gifting to loved ones. You can imagine how much they vocalize their disappointment. But once a year, I make it a priority to sew a special handmade item for each of them during the holiday season. The gifts are usually a request they have made or something I have chosen to customize according to their individual interests.

Since these handmade items are so special, I wanted a way to make them stand out from the rest of the gifts sitting under the Christmas tree. That’s when I thought of the idea to make a Santa sack styled gift bag. Initially, I didn’t think they would care very much for the bags since children don’t usually comment on gift wrapping. To my surprise they were very impressed and excited to see what they were and what they held inside. Hmmm…

After opening the bags and seeing the items they held, the girls then asked if they could keep the bags. Well, that was a surprise. I very quickly said no and snatched them up before they were taken away and never to be seen again. Haha!

But that got me thinking… “Wow, they actually liked the gift bags.”

Since the first Christmas bag appearance I have made an effort to continue wrapping their handmade gift in the bags every year. The girls look forward to seeing their reusable gift bags and it’s always the first one they open on Christmas morning.

How very sweet it is to see the excitement they have about the items I’ve made for them, and they completely flatter me with their comments of how much they love them. How did I get so lucky to have these kids of mine?

In an effort to share our special handmade family tradition with you, I designed a similar Santa styled gift bag.

Here it is, the Starry Patch Gift Bag.

Made in the Oh What Fun fabrics, just the cutest.

Since the design is a quilt star, I thought this same idea could be used for more than just Christmas themed gift bags. Wouldn’t it look great in florals, a birthday theme or even Halloween treat prints?

I did not expect my kids to like the Christmas bags as much as they do, and I did not expect to create an entirely new family tradition either. But I guess those are the sorts of things we can create when we put our love into making a project for those we care about.

My hope is not only that you will like the sewing pattern I created, but that it will be used to bring happiness into the lives of those around you. Enjoy the process of creating and gifting.

If you want to order the Starry Patch Gift Bag, it is now available here in my Etsy Shop.

Don’t forget to check out the Oh What Fun fabric collection by Poppie Cotton. Ask your local quilt shop if they will be stocking the collection and if not tell them they need to get on the Poppie Cotton fabrics list asap.

Have a wonderful sewing week!

love, Jasmine