Tote Bag Tutorial

July 21, 2018 · 6 Comments

Tote Bag Tutorial

Here’s a tote bag tutorial!

I’m not going to say an awful lot about this, except that I’ve made 2 of these bags for a teacher.

They’re the correct size for carrying A4 exercise books, so they’d also be fine for carrying library books or shopping.

The webbing handles go right underneath the bag, so it’s the webbing that takes the strain, not your sewing!

I sewed French seams as the fabric was fraying quite a bit already.

The bags are lined because I wanted to make them as well as I could, but you could skip this step if you just wanted to quickly run up some shopping bags.

This tote bag tutorial includes instructions for making a cover for the handles. If you have a bag already for this kind of thing and the handles hurt your hands, you could make some covers and sew them to the handles.

How To Make a Tote Bag

There’s some tips at the end of this tote bag tutorial, so make sure you read to the end!

You Will Need

1 metre of fabric for the bag outer.
1 metre of fabric for the lining. I used ticking for the outer and calico for the lining.
2.5 metres of webbing 3 cm (1 inch) wide.
A small amount of quilt batting or foam interfacing
15 cm (6 inches) velcro
Usual sewing supplies

Cutting Out

Cut a rectangle 64 cm x 87 cm (25 inches x 34 inches) from outer fabric, and another the same size from the lining. The grain needs to be running up and down. If you’re using a directional print, you’ll need to cut it half, turn one half round and sew it back together (don’t forget to add a seam allowance!).

Cut a piece of webbing 230 cm long.

Cut 2 rectangles 15 cm x 17 cm from outer fabric, and another the same size from quilt batting or foam interfacing.

Sewing Together

A 2 cm (3/4 inch) seam allowance is included.

1. Attach the handles.

Cut cm of webbing. Melt the ends over a candle. Don’t hold it too close to the flame! You’re only melting it so that it doesn’t fray, not setting fire to it!

Pin the webbing to the fabric so that the inside edges of the webbing are 12 cm apart and either side of the centre. Overlap the ends a little bit near the centre as this will be the bottom of the bag.

Check that the handles are the same length, then sew the handles to the fabric. Leave a couple of cm (an inch) at the edges of the fabric for folding down the raw edge later.

2. Sewing the outer.

Fold the outer in half widthways with the wrong sides together. Sew the side seams a cm away from the raw edge.

Trim the seams in half, then turn the bag outer the wrong way out. Sew the seams again so that the raw edges are enclosed.

To make the boxed corners, press the bottom edge with your finger to make a crease. Squash one corner flat so that the side seam is next to the crease. Measure up 12 cm (4 3/4 inches) from the corner. Pin, then sew across the corner.

Cut the corner off, then turn the bag outer the wrong way out. Sew the corner seam again to enclose the raw edges.

Repeat with the other corner.

3. Making the lining.

The lining is made in the same way as the outer, just without the webbing.

4. Sewing the lining and the outer together.

Pop the lining inside the outer so that the wrong sides are together. You might find it helpful to pin the corners together, and also at the side seams.

Fold the top of the lining inwards by a couple of cm (3/4 inch). The folded edge should be just below the stitching where you sewed the webbing to the top of the outer.

Now fold the edge of the outer under by a cm (1/4 inch), then fold it over again. Pin it so that it covers the folded edge of the lining.

Sew all the way around the top of the bag. When you get to the webbing, you can either sew across it, or miss it out and continue sewing on the other side of the webbing. If you do this, you’ll need to hand stitch the outer to the lining on the bits you miss out.

5. Making the handle cover

Take the 2 rectangles and the quilt batting. Pin them together so that the rectangles have their right sides together, and the batting is on the top.

Sew around the outside edge, leaving a gap in one side.

Trim the seams and cut across the corners. Turn it the right way out and sew up the opening.

Pin one half of the velcro to one of the long edges about a cm (1/4 inch) in from the edge. The is so that the velcro doesn’t scratch your hand when you’re carrying your books about or your shopping. Sew around the velcro.

Pin then sew the other half of the velcro to the other long edge on the other side of the handle cover.

Pin the handle cover to one of the handles on the underneath. This is that you can fold the handle cover round both the handles, then do it up with the velcro. Sew webbing to the cover.

Tips

Remember to wash your fabric first! This is especially important if you are using calico or similar as this might shrink when you wash it.

You could use cotton webbing instead of nylon, or you could make straps from fabric.

Don’t forget to press seams as you go!

You could skip lining it if you wanted to as the the French seams will give the inside a neat finish anyway.

If you liked this tote bag tutorial, you might also like these.

Shopping bag tutorial

Quilted bag tutorial

Reusable bags for bread and vegetables

Easy Drawstring Bag With Enclosed Seams

June 10, 2018 · 2 Comments

Easy Drawstring Bag With Enclosed Seams

My friend Wendy recently asked me to make her a little bag. She and her husband Danny play Scrabble, and they need a bag to keep the Scrabble tiles in. It also needed to be big enough to get a hand in to take a tile out.

These were her only requirements!

I knew I had some suitable fabric, and that I would be able to whip up an easy drawstring bag quite easily.

Wendy’s a knitter but she doesn’t sew. She and Danny are also lovely, very kind, sweet with my boys and have invited us round to dinner lots of times. Danny is a very good cook, so going round to theirs is a treat!

So I added some of my own requirements to the easy drawstring bag.

Because it’s going to be used quite a lot, and hands are going to be in and out of it, I decided on enclosed seams to give them some strength and to prevent it from becoming tatty quickly.

I also decided on boxed corners, so that it will sit on a table without the tiles spilling out everywhere.

Little drawstring bags are useful for all kinds of things, even if you don’t play Scrabble!

So here are the instructions if you want to make for one yourself or for some kind hearted people you know who might find a use for one.

How to Make an Easy Drawstring Bag

You Will Need

A piece of cotton fabric large enough for your bag. I used a piece 23 cm x 45 cm (6 inches x 17 3/4 inches).

Bias binding

String or cord. I used bakers’ twine (affiliate link).

Sewing the Bag

If your fabric has a directional print, you’ll need to cut it in half widthways, turn one half round then sew it back together.

1. With the wrong sides together, fold the fabric in half widthways. Pin the sides and sew a 1 cm (1/4 inch) seam. Cut the seams in half. Press the seams.

2. Turn the bag inside out. Pin the side seams so that the raw edges are enclosed. Sew the seams again, a couple of mm away from where the raw edges are inside the seam. Press again.

3. To make the boxed corners, turn the bag the correct way out again. These seams are going to be enclosed too!

Take one of the corners and squish it flat so that the side seam is next to the bottom of the bag. If you used a directional print and reassembled the fabric, there’ll seam along the bottom. Otherwise you’ll need to press it so that there’s a fold. Using your finger might be enough. It’s just to get the corners square.

Measure up 2 cm (3/4 inch) up from the corner and pin. Sew across the corner at right angles to the seam. Cut the corner off. Repeat with the other corner.

4. Turn the bag the wrong way out again. Pin the corner seams and sew to enclose the raw edges.

5. Take the top edge and fold it over. Fold it over again. Pin, then sew, keeping close to the lower edge of the folded section.

6. To make the casing, cut 2 pieces of bias binding about a cm (1/4 inch) shorter than the width of the bag. Pin both pieces to the bag on the right side, just below the top, leaving a gap between each piece at the sides. Sew along each long edge of the bias binding. Don’t sew the short edges!

7. Cut a length of ribbon or cord 4 times the width of the bag, plus a bit extra. Tie one end to a safety pin and pass it through both pieces of the bias binding. You’ll need to go through each piece twice.

8. Tie the ends of the cord. Before cutting anything, pull the cord to check that it closes. There will be 2 bits of cord at each opening, so if it doesn’t work, try pulling the on the other bit.

Now your bag’s ready for your Scrabble tiles!

Tips

To reduce the amount of visible stitching on the outside of the bag, pin the bias binding so that it overlaps the bottom of the hem.

If you are using ribbon or thicker cord, you might prefer to pass it through the casing just once and pull the bag closed on one side rather than on both sides.

A piece of velvet or corduroy would make a nice bag for storing scrabble tiles or something similar, but it might be a bit thick for enclosed seams. If the fabric won’t fray, you could pink the seams instead.

If you liked this, you might also like these posts.

Drawstring bag from a pillowcase

Fat quarter fabric basket

DIY Reusable Bags For Bread and Veg

January 20, 2018 · 18 Comments

DIY Reusable Bags For Bread and Veg

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but one of the things I want to do this year is cut down on the amount of plastic we use.

I don’t think anybody who heard that plastic has been found in the Mariana Trench wasn’t shocked (I know about the Mariana Trench thanks to Octonauts!). And the amount of plastic washed up on beaches is awful.

Since the law changed in England in 2015, making it illegal to give out plastic bags in shops, the amount of plastic waste on British beaches has dropped by 40 %.

Although it took a little bit of getting used to, I wouldn’t dream of going out now without a bag or a basket to put my shopping in. I’d no sooner leave the house without a bag than go out without my purse or my phone.

A lot of it is difficult to cut out. When I buy pasta, it comes in a non recyclable plastic bag and there’s no option to buy it loose.

But there are other ways to reduce plastic bag use. The most obvious is DIY reusable bags for fruit and veg, and the other is bags for bread if you buy it fresh and they put it in a plastic bag, like they do at the little bakery near my house.

DIY Reusable bags are very easy to make. I’ve used cotton muslin to make one for bread and some more for fruit and veg.

DIY Reusable Bags for Bread

You Will Need

Cotton muslin or some other lightweight, semi transparent fabric (old net curtains will do the job if you have some, or you could raid charity shops), bias binding or something else for the drawstrings (there are some ideas here on Threading My Way), usual sewing supplies.

Making the Bags

1. Cut a piece of fabric 33 cm x 76 cm.

2. Fold the fabric in half and pin the sides. Sew the side seams and trim.

3. Take one of the corners and squash it flat so that the side seam is next to the bottom.

4. Measure 6 cm up from the corner. Pin, then sew across the corner. Cut the corner off. Repeat for the other corner.

5. Fold the top of the bag over, then fold it over again. It will need to be wide enough for the drawstring cord. Pin, then sew, keeping close to the edge. Remember to leave a gap for the cord.

6. Thread the cord through the casing.

Making a Version For Fruit and Veg

To make a fruit and veg bag, cut a piece of fabric 20 cm x 60 cm. Follow the same steps as for the bread bag, but skip the boxed corners.

They’re easy and quick enough to make all the bags you need in an evening!

You might also like this tutorial showing how to make a reusable shopping bag!

DIY Bag Organiser: The End of Losing Stuff in Your Bag!

October 6, 2017 · 9 Comments

DIY Bag Organiser: The End of Losing Stuff in Your Bag!

Back in July, one of my lovely readers emailed me to ask if I could write a tutorial showing how to sew a DIY bag organiser. She said that she is forever losing stuff at the bottom of her bag, and some sort of organiser might help.

Having found myself more than once frantically hunting for my phone because it’s ringing but being unable to find it because it’s sunk to the bottom under all the other stuff and the assorted junk, I thought this was a very good idea!

My first attempt at making a DIY bag organiser wasn’t a success. It involved sewing canvas, buckram and a lining and to be honest, it was a bit of a nightmare. I had imagined something fairly simple that would come together quickly, but this really didn’t.

In the end, I ran out of time because we were going on holiday, and when we got back I didn’t have any inclination to finish it.

Sometimes when things aren’t working, the best thing to do to give up and try again, and I’d definitely reached that point!

So having had a few weeks to re think, I’ve had another go and this time it was a success!

Instead of using fabric that needed lining and a stiffener added, I used some firm felt that didn’t need either.

I’ve also kept the design very simple. The pockets don’t have gathering, zips or anything fancy, and they’re only on the outside of the organiser, not on the inside. As felt doesn’t fray, I could trim the seams closely and the raw edges didn’t need finishing.

The organiser I made fits my Kath Kidston bus bag. If you have a bag that is a similar size this will work for you. If not, just adjust the dimensions so that it fits your bag. The finished dimensions of the bag organiser I made are 28 cm x 8 cm x 28 cm.

The felt came from Minerva Crafts (affiliate link) and I would recommend using this as it made the whole thing so much easier and quicker!

Here are the instructions for making a diy bag organiser! If you don’t fancy making your own pattern, you buy a pattern for it from my Etsy shop here.

How To Make a DIY Bag Organiser.

You Will Need

Stiff felt (affiliate link) or other fabric with fusible stiffener added, usual sewing supplies.

Cutting Out

From the felt, cut 2 rectangles 33 cm x 33 cm, 2 rectangles 28 cm x 14 cm and 2 rectangles 28 cm x 18 cm.

The bag main pieces include a 1 cm (1/4 inch) seam allowance.

You might want to cut a handle in the top of the bag main pieces. The handle in mine is 9 cm long and 3.5 cm down from the top. If you want to make the top of the bag main pieces curved, you could use a French curve or a plate.

OR skip this stage by buying the pattern.

If you are using a bag with different dimensions, you will need to measure from the centre of one side to the centre of the other, and from the bottom of your bag to 3/4 of the way up the front.

The pocket pieces will need to fit on the front and the back without going round to the sides (unless you want them to!).

Sewing Up

1. Take one of the larger pocket pieces and one of the smaller pocket pieces. With the right sides face upwards, pin the smaller piece to the larger piece. Mark 1 third and 2 thirds along the smaller piece.

2. Sew along where you marked so that the pocket pieces are sewn together. The front pocket piece here will have 3 sections.

3. Now pin the pocket pieces you’ve just made to one of the bag main pieces. If you are using the same dimensions as I did, the bottom of the pocket pieces will need to be 5 cm up from the bottom of the bag main, and 5 cm in at each side.

Sew the edges and the bottom of the pocket pieces to the bag main. The front pocket will have 3 sections and the pocket behind it will have 1 large section.

4. To construct the pockets for the other side of the bag organiser, pin the smaller one to the larger one in the same way as you did with the other pocket section. Mark half way along on both pocket pieces.

5. Pin this pocket section to the other bag main piece. Sew around the bottom and edges of the pocket pieces. Then sew down the centre of both pieces where you marked in the previous step. This will give you 2 pockets in the front, with 2 taller pockets behind.

6. With the right sides together, pin the bag main pieces, then sew along the sides and the bottom. Trim the seams.

7. Take one of the corners and open it out. Then squash it flat so that the seams are together. This will give your bag organiser some depth without having to faff about with a gusset. 🙂 Pin to hold it.

8. Sew across the corner at right angles to the seam, close to the bottom corners of the pockets. Repeat with the other corner, then cut the corners off.

Your DIY bag organiser is done! Trim the threads and turn it out. Now you never need to lose your phone or pen in the bottom of your bag again!

Little House Bag Tutorial and Giveaway

September 6, 2017 · 28 Comments

Little House Bag Tutorial and Giveaway

Recently I was sent some beautiful fabric from the new Tilda Harvest collection so that I could once again participate in their blog hop.

As well as the lovely new fabric collection which you can find here, a new Tilda ebook is coming out at the end of September. It’s available to pre order here and there’s a little preview of the book here. I’ve had a look at it myself and I want to live in that beautiful house with all the quilts!

As with Tilda fabric generally, it was so pretty I didn’t want to cut into it! However the deal was that I made something with it, not just add it to the mountain of fabric behind my bedroom door!

Once I’d got over the whole thing of not wanting to cut it, I decided to make a little house bag.

There was enough fabric to make 2 little house bags, so I’ll be giving the rest away as a kit. If you’d like to win the kit, keep reading because the details are at the bottom of the post!

***Please note that the giveaway has ended***

Here’s the tutorial for making a little house bag.

How To Make a Little House Bag

You Will Need

Cotton fabric for bag main, roof, doors and windows, porch and window frames and lining. I used 4 fat eighths in different designs from the Tilda Harvest collection.
1 wooden heart button
1 magnetic snap
Sew in interfacing (I used Soft and Stable. This is an affiliate link.)
Fusible interfacing for the applique
Templates for the bag which can be downloaded here.

Please note that these are available as a content upgrade and although you can download them for free, I will require an email address in exchange for them. You can find out more about content upgrades here.

Cutting Out

Cut 2 main bag pieces from outer fabric, 2 from the lining and 2 from sew in interfacing. You might like to use some fusible interfacing on one of the bag outer pieces too to give it some weight for the applique.

Cut 2 roof flap pieces from the fabric you’ve chosen for the roof and 1 from sew in interfacing. I used the same fabric to line the roof flap as for the outer.

From the same fabric you’re using for the roof, cut a porch and 2 window frames. Iron some fusible interfacing to the wrong side before cutting out.

From the fabric you’ve chosen for the door and windows, cut 1 door and 2 windows. These will need fusible interfacing too.

For the handle, cut a piece of fabric 14 cm x 10 cm.

Sewing Up

1. Applique the windows to the window frames and the door to the porch.

2. Take 1 of the bag main pieces and position the door and windows on the right side of the fabric. The door will need to be 3 cm up from the raw edge. Appliqué the door and windows in place.

3. Attach one half of the magnetic snap 3 cm above the apex of the porch. If you need more detailed instructions showing how to install a magnetic snap, you can find one here.

4. Take the other bag outer piece and, with the right sides together, sew the sides and the bottom of the bag. If the sew in interfacing you’re using isn’t too thick, you could sew that with the outer pieces. Otherwise you’ll need to sew it separately.

5. To make the boxed corners, take one of the corners and press it flat so that the seams are together. Measure 3 cm up from the corner. Pin, then sew across the corner at right angles to the seam. Cut the corner off. There’s a more detailed tutorial here showing how to make boxed corners if you need it.

6. Make the lining in the same way as the outer. If you’re using Soft and Stable, you’ll need to sew that separately as well.

7. With the right sides together, sew the lining to the outer across the front. Make sure you leave enough of a gap at the back to slip the roof part in. Turn it the right way out.

8. Take the inside roof piece and attach the other half of the magnetic snap 2 1/2 cm up from the lower edge. You might want to iron on a little bit of fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric first.

9. Take the 2 roof pieces and the sew in interfacing. With the right sides together, sew the sides and the bottom. Trim the seams and cut off the corners. Turn it out and press.

10. Fold the open part of the bag main inwards. Slip the roof into the opening and pin. Top stitch all the way round the top of the bag.

11. To make the handle, take the handle piece and fold it in half lengthways. Open it out, then fold the raw edges into the centre. Fold the ends inwards, then fold half again. Sew all around the handle.

12. Sew the ends of the handle to the roof, near to where it joins to the bag main.

13. Sew the heart button above the door as shown in the picture below.

The finished bag is roughly 20 cm square and is perfect if you want a smaller bag. You could use it as a lunch bag or for storing a small crochet project or some embroidery.