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Friday, December 2, 2016

Exhibition Bag

The SA Embroiderers' Guild asks members to submit items for exhibitions in a padded bag. There are some acceptable alternatives such as acid free boxes or bags clearly labelled. The packaging is to protect the item from damage and dust while in the Guild's care and during transportation. This was new to me until last year when I joined the committee for the March 2016 Exhibition. I submitted my own entries in a padded pillowcase liner.

I don't have a strong drive to exhibit my embroidery, but exhibiting members' work is important to the Guild. Each month the walls of the Guild's Gallery display work from one of the regular groups or from a class. This month's display will include work from the Kantha design class I attended earlier this year and also the work of the Graduate Certificate students.

As my Kantha piece is a very large cushion, I decided to make myself a large padded bag. I bought some padded, quilted cotton and made a simple bag . The top opening is edged with bias binding I had to hand. The flap closes over the opening.

After some thought and experimentation I came up with a flexible design and used up a number of a batch of about 40 wooden buttons I've had for quite a while. It involved five buttonholes in place of the two ties I had originally intended.







Here is the large version - a bag about 70cm square.







This is the medium bag - about 45cmx 70cm.












The small version is about 30cmx70cm.
On the back of the bag I stitched a transparent pocket, open at one end. I cut up a transparent document cover, machine-stitched some bias binding around three of its edges and stitched the binding to the bag. This can accommodate all the required documentation for an exhibition entry.



It sits on the back of the large bag but folds to the front on either of the smaller bags.




My Kantha cushion fits into the bag and is now ready to transport to the Guild on Monday.

I am absurdly pleased with myself for making something that is flexible enough to serve a range of different size projects. It will do the job I didn't know needed doing 12 months ago  - part of my learning as a Guild member.

I'm also delighted to have found a use for 15 of those buttons!



3 comments:

Lyn Warner said...

That is a really good idea! - a bag that can be adjusted to fit the size of the embroidery. Our guild also requires good packaging of items for exhibition, but will accept a pocket made of plastic bubble wrap inside an ordinary fabric bag.

margaret said...

these are ideal for transporting your various makes and a good ay of storing too

Monica said...

This is a really great use for all those beautiful buttons, and I'm sure they are much admired at the Guild! Plus, I really love your quilty carpet there. It's given me a better idea for one of my UFOs!