Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. – Charles Schulz
There are so many people who touch our lives, though they are not major players. “Something extra,” can be a small remembrance, a gift to acknowledge but not to oblige.
For our family, fresh fruit from our citrus trees has often filled the bill for small presents. But this year I wanted to focus a little more on presentation.
I thought the addition of an embroidered dishtowel would be something extra. I could have just slipped it into the brown paper bag in which I normally pack the citrus. But then I thought of this specialty thread and decided that a washaway bag was just what I needed.
From my slowly diminishing stash, some 100% linen fabric, made specifically for dishtowels, was quickly cut. The ends were serged and narrow hemmed. The towel was embroidered with tangerines from Amazing Designs Fruit and Birds collection.
Like so many of the Amazing Designs, this one is very stitch intensive and required two layers of tear away stabilizer. But the dense shading gives very pleasing results.
The towels were sewn up into a simple flat bottomed pouch with an embroidered flap.
By using washaway thread in both the needle and the bobbin, a quick spritz of water will release the stitches. This will leave the recipient with a useful keepsake towel and a consumable gift of tangerines from our trees.
For its temporary use as a bag, the towel has green ribbon safety pinned to the center front, drawn up snugly at the sides and pinned there as well. Next, a safety pin was snapped to the inside at center back and the ribbon run under the exposed pin shaft. Finally, it was all tied up, nice and neat.
As a matter of fact, I am going to include this little poem with the tangerines.
This tangerine bag was made for you.
To make it a dishtowel, here’s what you do.
Just wet the seams with a cloth or spray
And all the stitches will melt away.
Be glad I stitched you a bag for fruit.
I could have sewn you a bathing suit.
>According to Robert Paul, “Even before Christmas has said HELLO! it’s saying BUY! BUY!”
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