Crafting for the Environment!

It may not have been a hand-made Chrismtas, but I didn’t go the entire season without making something. That would be crazy!
Inspired by Miss Cindy’s lovely bags that she wrapped the kids presents in, and the few I already have in my collection from several friends, I decided to make myself a pile of cloth christmas wrapping bags. I will not lie, making these bags really stretched my limits at sewing. I will not even tell you how long it took me to figure out how to construct the draw-string portion. Entirely too long.

But. They are done, and reasonably well-sewn. I went all out and ironed before sewing a seam, which is not something that I would normally do. Ironing is for sissies! And people considerably less lazy than I am!

And keeping with my thriftiness, or laziness depending on how you look at it, I fashioned the rope for the draw string portion of these bags from my yarn stash. It is incredibly satisfying to crochet a really long chain. So satisfying that I made myself a garland out of leftover yarn. I’m wild like that.
It was a nice feeling to know that all the gifts under the tree from Steve and I were in a cloth bag that would be re-used for years to come. As I come across thrifted Christmas table cloths and the like in good condition, I plan to make more. Crocheting long chains really is that satisfying!
I will say that it’s going to take some getting used to opening the cloth bags. It loses something when your kids aren’t ripping open their gifts. In the end I’m sure this will be a good thing, but that wild abandon kids have tearing into Christmas isn’t the same when you’re struggling to untie a knot…