Decorated Tote Bag Made from a Kit

The Pros and Cons of Using Crafting Kits

Kit Crafting is One Way to Get Started in a New Craft

Frequently, I tell you:

Not to think of making money crafting from kits; but that sometimes it's good to pick up a kit to try something new and see if you want to pursue the media or technique further.

Soooo ... I bought this tote decorating kit by New Style which includes two letter size sheets of really cute word art and girly designs (flowers, butterflies, hearts and ladybugs), plus a letter size sheet of flocked iron-on letters.

I knew I wouldn't be able to use them all on one bag; so I could add the leftovers to my stash for future fabric or even paper craft projects.

Then ...I was quite disappointed when I opened the box and pulled out the smallish bag - definitely not your typical tote bag size at a mere 10 x 14 inches.

This means that the cover girl's arm is about 10-inches long ... or the photo is faked. Quite a misleading presentation, wouldn't you agree?

My disappointment dissipated when I felt the lovely grade of fabric and how well-padded the bag was.

Then ... I looked more closely at the construction. The top stitching was very amateurish with a lot of hanging threads and an obvious sewing machine tension problem creating loops on both sides.

Soooo ... I looked for the "made in" information only to find the kit was "Made in China". That got me to imagining an 8-year old Chinese peasant girl laboring 10 hours a day 7 days a week sewing these bags together for us more fortunate westerners ...

I just had to rant about that before I got into the project itself ... and the bumps in the road I hit along the way.

I decided the bag was too small for a typical tote. Plus the nice padding made it a good candidate for a travel cosmetic bag. The bag was lined (nice touch) but with a synthetic fabric.

So first of all (after trimming away all the loose threads I told you about), I decided it needed a plastic inner lining to contain any cosmetic product leaks and allow spills or marks to be whisked away with a damp cloth.

If I sewed in a plastic lining, leaks could still seep through the stitch holes and the cloth zipper. So I'll simply insert a gallon Ziploc bag to hold all liquids. That will also make it easier for airport security personnel to search while rummaging through my stuff.

I laid out my designs element - all iron-ons which should make for an easy project - and heated up the iron to finish my cosmetic bag.

What should have taken 15 minutes, actually took several frustrating hours. Notice the differences between the design as I laid it out and as it appears in the finished tote. Some of the iron-on word art I had wanted to use would not iron on. Some of the more open iron-on designs also had pieces that didn't adhere.

I had to change my design on the fly, but I'm pretty pleased with it anyway. In addition to the supplies from the Next Style Kit, I used iron-on rhinestones and fabric flower appliqués also made by Next Style.

If you don't mind listening to me rant some more, read on for my experience with the Next Style customer service department.

Before trying to repair the mess made by the iron-ons from the Next Style kit which wouldn't iron on, I thought I would call the company and talk to a technical person.

The customer service representative was quite pleasant and tried to be helpful - though I imagined her examining her fingernails as I relayed my tale of woe. At first she said she would have her manager call me to offer technical assistance.

But when I described how several of the word art pieces wouldn't adhere and left yellow stains on the fabric, she blithely told me:

"Well, that's an old product and some of the adhesive is probably no good anymore;
I could return the kit for a replacement or my money back; and
There is no way to remove the yellow stains left by the adhesive."

I asked if there was a tech person who might be able to help me. I imagined her examining her fingernails again before telling me there was nothing else the company could do.

The conversation left me wondering if craft kits should have a "use by" date like many food items. It was nice of the company to offer me a refund. I don't know about you but - when I've put time and other materials into a project, a refund for one item doesn't really help much.

So I set about to fix the bag on my own.

I filled in the gaps on the more open designs with permanent marker. I used Aleene's OK to Wash It fabric glue to secure loose pieces of the iron-on transfers and seal over the marker.

AND - guess what? - I found that paint thinner does a credible job of removing the yellow adhesive stains which the rep had told me there was no hope for.

I would gladly share this tip with the Next Style company if I could contact someone who cared.