Monday, October 26, 2009

The easiest bag (super mondo tutorial)

So the first couple classes have come and gone
and I will finally post the bag tutorial so
all can see the by product of 3 hours of
craftiness. These bags are super easy and cute
and I highly recommend making them
for Christmas gifts.
Imagine the possibilities..
you can stuff them with fancy grocery items,
crafty books and notions; use them
as your gift wrap?
They require only 1 yard of heavy canvas
or heavy twill(should be under 13 bucks).
The fabric we used in class,
as mentioned before, was Joel Dewberry printed
twill. You can use the twill or canvas... prints
will cost you a little more ($16.99/yd)

Here is our sassy finished product,
with sweeties blowfish screened front and
center on the front pocket of the bag.

Along with a sewing machine, you will need simple
sewing notions. Cue the notion bubble..

Here are the pattern pieces you will need to cut and their measurements..



Our front pocket here was screened, but let's remember
my homemade bag from before that had a little
personally crafted flare that I will mention later.

So, getting to it. The first things you will sew are the handles
and the straps. Start by sandwiching together the 'right' sides
(the printed sides) of the fabric and sewing them on
either side with 1/4" seam allowance.


The iron is key here... which is why it has become a notion in the
first place. Use the iron often.
Next, you will open the piece that you just sewed
together, and on the 'wrong' sides, iron open the seam
allowance in the middle and at the sides, iron down 1/4"
seam allowance on both sides of the piece.


Then, fold the seam allowances together, and press again and
sew down the opposite side with 1/8" topstitch.
Note that we are leaving the bottoms of the straps/handles
open and raw... it really doesn't affect the look and it makes it easy
to clip it to our liking later.

**Repeat this same process with the two handles as well.
Same exact process.

Next, we are going to deal with the pocket...
Iron down the allowance on the bottom 3 sides with heavy
steam..1/4". Sides first, then bottom.
Then, iron down the top hem of the pocket, fold 1/4" and iron.
Then, fold another 1/2" and iron.
Sew this piece down with 1/8" topstitch on the inside
of the hem.

Once the pocket hem is sewn down and the
sides and bottom allowance have been ironed
down, Place the pocket down on one of the front panels.
Center the pocket piece 2" up from bottom of
piece, and center the pocket in the middle of the panel.
Pin the piece down so that it does not move while you
are sewing. If you need pinning tips, see next step.


Somehow, I spaced out while I was sewing this pocket down,
but the next step is sewing the sides and bottom down with 1/8"
topstitch.. above pic.

Now that we have the body panel with the pocket complete,
sandwich the two body pieces together with the 'wrong' sides out
and pin the bottom sides. the top needs to remain open.
If there is any confusion about pinning, the pins will lie
perpendicular to the edge you are sewing. You can sew
right over them... pull them while you are sewing or after.
This seems like obvious information, but I promise you,
it's not.

Make sure your body panel with pocket is facing up. below.

Sew down bottom three edges with 1/4" seam allowance.
Remember to pivot at the bottom corners by lifting your presser
foot, rotating your pieces by hand, and continue on your way.
You can also angle the corners or curve them instead of
squaring them off.

Now we need the bias tape... bias tape makes our life easier
so that we do not need to clean finish our inside edges.
If you'd like... you can add tape to the bottom allowance of the bag
too. I only included the two sides in the pattern/notion
needs. Bias is fantastic because it is already prepped and double
layered for you.. line the edges together and press it
down, so it will be easy to sew onto your allowance.
Sandwich the allowance with the sides of the tape
and sew down right in the middle..
do this for both sides.


Next, iron down the hem of the top of the bag.. first 1/4",
then fold another 1" and press.
Sew this hem down at the 1/8' edge on the inside of the bag.



Check out the inner beauty!
The ladies of the class were lucky enough to
have the polka dotted bias... which is darling
and can also be purchased at Hart's fabric.

And now we have the bag body and we need to
attach the straps and handles.

Center the handles on either side, leaving about 6" between
handle sides. Pin these down so they will not slip.
Pin them at a length that feels right for you
and simply cut off the edge with scissors so
that the bottom of the handle is even with the bottom of
the 1" seam allowance.

Sew down the edges of the handle, staying in the one inch
square of the hem. After sewing the square at the 1/8"
edge, pivot and sew in an angle for a secure stitch.

Follow the same process with the straps. center them
over the side seams and sew the same 1"
square with 1/8" topstitch and angled secure stitch.


And there you have it. The easiest, cutest bag.
Even crabby is feeling a little bit shy in its presence.


Look at the cute fit.
You now have the know how. I want to see
bags bags bags.
I will accept many bags for christmas.
Sorry for the lack of class photos, but I just
cannot post pictures of DIYers under
bad neon lighting.

3 comments:

  1. i love! i want to run right home & make lots of bags for everyone i know :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. nice work on the tutorial for the bag - very crafty - everyone go out and make bags! I will spread this knowledge across France. laurent out

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm loving all this craftiness!!!! Can you do more projects step by step online!?

    ReplyDelete

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