CREATING A MUSIC STAND BAG WITH A BROTHER SEWING MACHINE

Music Stand Bag

Introduction

When you buy music stands they usually come in a bag.  There are 2 problems with my ‘bag’.

~ It is getting old and falling apart

~ when you put the music stand in the bag with the 2 parts joined together, the stand comes up higher than the top of the opening and you can’t close the top over.

So I decided to create a Music Stand Bag using remnants of black curtain and coloured upholstery fabric and a covered thin foam fragment from the base of an old bed mattress plus my new Brother Sewing Machine.

Laying Out Fabric

Here’s how I did it.

Materials:

Fabric: eg black and coloured remnants of curtain and upholstery fabric

Sewing scissors

Pins

Tape measure or ruler

Cotton eg black cotton

Equipment:

Sewing Machine eg Brother

Method:

1. Decide what pieces you need

I needed:

~ an outer layer, padded foam middle layer and an inner layer

~ a strap to carry the stand around

~ a short piece to go across from side-seam to side-seam near the top of one side of the bag. This is so the bit which folds over from the other side of the bag, can go under and keep the music stand inside without potential for it to fall out.

~ a design feature made from the coloured upholstery fabric.

I decided to have 5 strips going across the width of the bag on a diagonal with 3 strips on 1 side and 2 strips on the other. This is to represent the 5 lines of a musical stave in an artistic way.

2. Measure and Cut out Pieces:

The Outer Layer:

I already had a long rectangular black piece of curtain fabric, which I decided was my outer layer. I placed the music stand on the ground as the measuring factor. Then I folded the fabric over so that there was a single layer at one end, which would be the bit, which folded over at the top. The double layer of fabric was slightly bigger than the length of the music stand.  I cut across the width so that the single layer measured about 12 inches.

The Middle Foam Layer:

I had a long rectangular piece just the perfect width and just had to cut it to size so that it was slightly shorter in length to the outer black layer. I decided that I would be folding the ends of the black  fabric over the inner layers for a neat finish.

The Inner Layer:

This layer is the same size as the middle layer. So I used the middle layer as a pattern piece and pinned it onto the coloured upholstery fabric. I the cut round it.

The Carry Strap:

I worked out a length, which I thought would be a comfortable length to carry on my shoulder and a width double plus a bit more to what I wanted. The width needs to be double to have a strap of 2 layers of fabric. And the “bit more” is to cater for the seam allowance.

I used 1 side black fabric and 1 side coloured fabric.

The Short Piece at Top of Bag:

This is from the black fabric.

The length is the width size of the black outer layer from side-seam to side-seam.

The width was about 2 cm. Cut 2 pieces.

The Design Feature

I cut out 5 strips of coloured upholstery fabric.

The length of each piece was the measurement of the distance from 1 side of the black outer layer to the other side of the outer layer on the desired angle.

The width of each piece was about 5 cm.

Please note, that your measurements could vary depending on what you want.

And of course you could have a completely different design feature or none at all…entirely up to you.

3. Sewing It Together:

Make sure you have threaded the upper and lower threads on your sewing machine. Follow instruction manual or DVD if one came with machine.

Use a straight stitch.

i. Pin wrong side of inner fabric to one side of the middle foam piece.

Choose an edging stitch.

Sew all the way around. Cut and trim thread away right to the fabric.

ii. Prepare strips and carry strap

The short strip and strap:

Pin the right sides together.

Use a seam allowance of 3/8” and sew down each side.

Pull the right sides to be on the outside.

This step is fiddley especially on the smaller pieces.

iii. Prepare the design feature strips

Fold over each piece so that the right sides are in the middle.

Sew down the one side.

Pull the right sides to be on the outside.

iv.  Iron all strips and carry strap

v. Pin and Sew all strips and carry strap on to the outer black piece

The Short Piece For Top

Firstly fold the black piece over so that there is a 12″ single layer at the top and a double layer a little longer than the length of the music stand.

Then fold the 12″ piece over.

The Short Strip will be positioned about 3 cm from the lower edge of this turned over piece.

Pin the strip across the inner side from side-seam to side-seam.

Sew in position quite close to the edge on the sides of the black piece only. You can follow a sewing line on your sewing machine.

The Design Feature Strips

Position these strips on the right side of the black fabric on the diagonal and pin into place. I put 2 strips on the inner side and 3 strips on the outer side.

Sew very close to the edge all the way around.

The Carry Strap:

Firstly turn the ends in and pin together.

Then position and pin the strap on the black outer side where you want. The ends will face inwards.

Sew in place with a rectangular shape and a criss-cross pattern in the middle.

vi. Sewing The Black Outer Layer To The Inner Layers

Pin the wrong sides of each piece together.

Sew completely around using a straight stitch 3/8 ‘’ seam allowance.

Pin the black outer ends of each end over the coloured inside pieces and sew across each end.

vii. Fold The Piece

Fold the piece so that right sides are together and that there is a single layer of slightly less than 12″ at the top on one side. I just made sure the music stand would fit.

Pin sides together.

Sew a straight stitch using 3/8’ seam allowance along the thinner layers of fabric.

Remember to trim thread to the material as you sew each section.

Pull the right sides to the outside.

VOILA  a FINISHED PRODUCT with a Brother Sewing Machine

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I Declare The Christmas Tree Open

So What Is A Christmas Tree?

This is an example of an artificial Christmas Tree

A Christmas Tree is a decorated tree with lights, tinsel, little hanging decorations. It can be artificial like the one above, made from materials  like polyvinyl chloride or evergreen such as pine.

It is placed inside and people put gifts under it to exchange on Christmas Day.

Our family tradition " I Declare The Christmas Tree Open" gives us permission to exchange  gifts.

How did The Christmas Tree Originate?

It stemmed back to ancient times when the evergreen tree, like the pine tree, was a symbol of life in the winter. Houses were decorated with evergreen branches over the new year by the Romans and  ancient Eurpeans cut evergreen trees and planted them in boxes for the inside of their houses.

It was not until the Renaissance era with beginnings in Latvia (1510 ) and Strasbourg (1521) that are there clear records of trees being used as a symbol of Christmas.

One theory is that they started being used in Christmas plays. The plays linked Nativity with the feast day of Adam and Eve on 24th December.These trees or evergreen branches, called Paradise Trees, symbolized the Garden of Eden and were decorated with apples to represent forbidden fruit and round pastry wafers to symbolize The Eucharist.

 However in many places during the 16th century these plays were banned. So  evergreen branches or "Paradise Trees" were set up in people's homes decorated the same. This custom became more and more popular during the 17th and 18th century. People began putting candles beside the Christmas Tree to represent each family member, and then on the Christmas Tree.

Germans developed the Christmas Tree. Apples changed to red shiny balls,wafers changed to cookie ornaments which Germans use today and candles changed to lights after electricity became invented.

 And halfway through the 19th century the Christmas Tree became popular outside Germany.

Today people use a wide variety of ornaments to decorate their Christmas Trees, including santa claus, snowmen, round balls, candy cane*, fruits, animals, angels and an angel or star for the top of the tree to represent the angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity.

Take a look at traditional German Christmas Carol "O Christmas Tree"

*NB A Candy Cane is a cane-shaped hard candy stick associated with Christmas. 
It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavoured with peppermint.
Today it  is also made in a variety of other flavors and colors.

Some say it started in the 17th century when a choirmaster wanted to give the children in the choir sweet treat as they often became restless during church services. So he found a candy maker to create a crook shape candy. He wanted it educational for the children.

The J shape represents Jesus. 
At first it was pure white and this is to symbolize the virgin birth and purity.
Then three red stripes got added to represent the blood and eternal life.
The peppermint flavour is similar to another member of the mint family, hyssop. In the Old Testament hyssop was used for purification and sacrifice, and this is said to symbolize the purity of Jesus and the sacrifice he made.

Today the candy Cane is a symbol of Christmas and it's holiday.

Other Plants Associated With Christmas

Some examples are holly, ivy, mistletoe

Holly

Holly has jagged edges and remains green during the winter.

It was a prominent part of pre- Christian winter celebrations.

Then it became important to the Christians who used it as a decoration to decorate doors to protect their homes from evil spirits. 

It also has a relationship to the crucifixion of Christ where he wore a crown of thorns that caused his head to bleed. The holly leaves symbolized the crown of thorns and the red berries symbolized Christ's blood. 

Ivy

The use of Ivy dates back thousands of year. Ivy stays green throughout the year. and some people believed it had magical powers, hence  and it was another perfect plant to have in your home in the winter. 

 Ivy symbolized eternal life, rebirth and the spring season. It also was symbol of different things depending on the culture. 

---------------------
Decorating homes with Holly and Ivy became accepted during Christian holidays and are used in our Christmas celebrations today.

A famous English Christmas Carol, "The Holly and the Ivy," uses the holly symbol to celebrate the birth of Christ 

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant growing on the branches of tree beaches or trunks,but it can grow on its own. It is an evergreen featuring small, yellowish flowers and white berries.

It was used in winter celebrations 200 years before the birth Of Jesus Christ.
The Druids started decorating their homes with it.

It was considered to be a symbol of fertility and was used as a medicine for certain illnesses. Some believed it had magical powers and was used to fight evil spirits. 

The British started hanging Mistletoe up as a Christmas decoration during the 18th or 19th century.

There was a custom of Kissing Under The Mistletoe.

Mistletoe, like in the picture above was hung from the ceiling. On 
 festive occasions like Christmas, people played kissing games beneath the ball. A kiss beneath the decoration was said to bring good luck and lasting friendship. This still happens today as a Christmas Tradition.

Hello Santa

Traditional New Zealand Christmas Fare

There are many traditions associated with Christmas. 

And one of them is when

family and friends gather on Christmas Day ( 25^th December ) to enjoy a Christmas Meal together. The traditional Christmas foods which are eaten on this day vary from country to country.

Let’s have a look at the New Zealand Christmas Fare

When my family gather at Christmas Time we traditionally have:

Roast Turkey

Glazed Ham

Roast Vegetables

Peas

Tomatoes

Christmas Pudding

Pavlova

Trifle ~ this happens sometimes

Summer Pudding ~ this is a tradition in my family,  not a typical New Zealand

     tradition for Christmas

Mixed Berries and Summer Pudding

Strawberries and other red berries

Icecream

Cream

Plain yoghurt

Wine

Nibbles…chocolate

                  Cherries

Christmas Mince Pies:

      These are a traditional Christmas food, which can be enjoyed at anytime

      around the Christmas season

The table setting looks festive with Christmas Crackers or Bon-Bons, which people use at the Christmas Dinner.

Now what are Christmas Crackers or Bon-Bons?

There may be some quiet Christmas Music in the background.

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