Homemade Valentines Part I

This is the first in a two part installment series... Really I just haven't finished all the projects, but I figured I'd share what I have.

I'm not a fan of the commercialism of Valentine's day, but I do appreciate the sentiment of showing your loved ones some extra tenderness. So I usually go for handmade gifts, of course.

I made these drawstring bags to fill with homemade chocolate lollipops etc (will share those soon) and give to N.'s daycare teachers. They are wonderful. It's a sanity saver being able to trust and like the people you leave your baby with when you have to go to work. So, yes, they get homemade valentines.

Here's the pattern for a finished size of 4x6 bags:

1) Cut your choice of fabric 5' w x 8' h - I used white muslin.

2) Wrong side - Fold and iron 1/2 in on each side and keep folded. Fold and iron the top 1/4 in, then 1/2 in keeping the original 1/4 in folded. Pin the top.

3) Wrong side - Sew the top using a decorative stitch, leaving as much as you can of the 1/2 fold opened to pull the string through.

4) Wrong side - Cut a very small slit where the top fold meets the side seams. Fold and iron the fabric width-wise.

5) Wrong side - Sew the bottom (1/2 in) and the opened side (1/2 in) all the way to where the opening for the string meets the seam.

6) Turn the bag right side out. Pull a ribbon through the opening.

7) Add embellishments to the front of the bag. I cut a fabric and (smaller) felt heart and hand stitched to the front of one bag, then cut felt flowers and hands stitched it to the other.

details: 1) you can use smaller seam allowances; 2) these bags only have one string coming out of one side, while lots of drawstring bags have strings coming out of both sides that you pull at the same time. I wanted to try something different for these.

Do you celebrate Valentine's day? How?