Crazy Victorian Bag

I recently discovered a really great craft that combines mixed media art, fiber art and quilting. It's called crazy quilting, and harkens back to the Victorian era when rich and poor alike used scraps, embroidery and embellishments to create fabulous creative quilts.




I decided to try my hand at this technique by making myself a handbag. Using faux leather for the back and sides and upholstery fabric for the lining, I crazy quilted just the front panel. I used scraps of fabric from my wedding as well as random bits from my stash, all in colors and textures that have a real Victorian feel.

Also new for me on this project was ribbon embroidery. I've done traditional embroidery before, so I'm familiar with some of the stitches. But working with ribbons is really fun and satisfying. There is also hand embroidery done with floss on most of the seams and some beadwork.