Pairing yarn dyed wovens with the Midi Bag

Cutting 2.5" squares of yarn dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles.

I've been working with fabric scraps lately. And although I love the randomness, serendipity and discovery process of improv patchwork, I also enjoy a project with more structured parameters—and one that is quick to make with a known end-result.

Enter the Midi Bag, the middle-size bag from the popular Mondo Bag series by Quiltsmart.

I've made both the Mondo and Midi bags before. They are spacious, stand on their own (they have a flat bottom), and anyone—even beginners—can be successful making one. So with an extra interfacing kit which I bought at one time but never used, I decided to put it to use with these lovely scraps of textured yarn dyed wovens from Diamond Textiles.

One of the advantageous features of a yarn dyed fabric is that there is NO "wrong side." So, if need be, the "other" right side can be used and will act like another fabric in your scrappy project.

Right side and the "other" right side of a yarn dyed fabric.

After fusing the 2.5" squares into place on the gridded fusible interfacing (BTW: this is a perfect project for 2.5" pre-cut strip sets, too), a decision about the handles had to be made.

I had a few longer strips of Diamond's brushed cottons in this color palette, but when I pulled yardage of a stripe from Diamond Textile's World Fabrics collection, it gave the bag a little more interest and the color contrast (note the blues and turquoise hues in the stripe) it needed.

Stripe from the World Fabrics by Diamond Textiles.

Had I thought to use the stripe at the onset of this bag project, I would have interjected some squares of the stripe. At this point, un-fusing and un-stitching was not going to happen. Alas, those are the twists and turns of working serendipitously with scraps.

Another thought was to appliqué a strip of the stripe to the outside. Let's audition.

Auditioning the stripe on the body of the bag.

Too much? I think so.

The handles have an inner lining of a yarn dyed woven
and the outside is the stripe.

Learn to edit, edit, edit.

And, make a note for next time.

Midi Bag with yarn-dyed wovens.

The finished bag lets the yarn dyed fabrics shine in their own glory. 

Mark this project "Complete!" and take it on the road.

Completed Midi Bag with yarn-dyed wovens from
Diamond Textiles.

If you haven't worked with yarn dyed wovens, they are easy to sew, have a rich color palette and interesting textures. Contact your local quilt shop or sewing center and ask them about Diamond Textiles.