Superbowl Boredom – Create a new handbag in less than 5 hours

Bored with all the pre-game stuff I decided to give myself a handbag challenge. I’ve been promising my Cousin a handbag since Christmas – let’s see if I can do one in less than 5 hours. I’ll take this opportunity to write a very quick tutorial on my Basic Bag. All that is required is  a little math and planning.

Basic Layout

The materials you will need are:

• Fabric
• Fabric Markers (air soluable)
• Rulers
• Interfacing
• Thread
• Other embellishments you might like to add

My cousin likes a medium sized bag with soft sides, let’s say we make her one with a finished front of 8″ X 10″ with a 4″ depth. By looking at the chart you can see we would add 8″ + 2″ + 2″ + 1″(we will be using a 1/2″ seam, so 1/2″ each side) giving us a total width of 13″. We will figure the same for the length (height) so 10″ + 2″ + 1″ (we only add the dept to the bottom and again, 1/2″ seams). So, we’ll cut 2 pieces of main fabric and 2 pieces of lining fabric 13″ by 13″.

You can see by my fabric I didn’t have enough to give me the yardage I needed, so I just added some additional that goes with the main fabric. This could be added at the top or bottom. Sometimes I do this on purpose, to add interest. I’ve also sewn several pieces together and then cut the size I need – we’ll leave that for another lesson (does that peak your interest?). Cut your 2 pieces for your lining at this time.

You don’t have to cut side panels because we added that into our side and bottom measurement.  At this point I always add an iron on a light to medium weight interfacing. If I want to have more of a “hard” sided bag, I will also cut something like “craft fuse” by Pellon or Timex, even buckrum could be used. Sew front and back main fabric right sides together at sides and bottom . PRESS seams. I can’t say this too often.

Now, let’s go to the lining. You can have any number of pockets, zippered or plain, the choice is yours. The next two pictures show some possible layouts for pockets. One, has a pocket that goes acoss the entire bag, which will be separated into several individual pockets. You could also add pockets to the front but, my cousin doesn’t like them there, so we’ll do this bag with only pockets inside. The next 2 pitures

Lining with 1 small pocket

show 2 different ways of doing pockets. One single one or several by sewing one large piece across the width and then dividing that into sections. You could also have a zippered pocket.

Long Pocket

You will also notice there are corners cut out of each side on the bottom. This is one of several ways to form you side panels. Cut a 2″ square off each side. Sew lining right sides together along both sides. Sew bottom but leave the middle 2/3s open for turning purposes.

Sewing Pleat

Then you will put (right sides together) the seam from the bottom with the side seam. I prefer to have the bottom seam go one way and the side seam go the other and but them together. The width of this pleat should be 4″. Stand it up, you can see how the sides are forming at this point. Do the exact same thing to the fashion/main fabric with the exception of sewing the bottom seam totally across.

Now we have two sections, the min fabric bag and the lining. Before putting these two together, we need to decide on what type of handles we want to add, fabric or purchased. Since she didn’t want a shoulder bag, I’m just going to use some purchased handles whih require making tabs for attaching the handle to the bag.

With these two pictures, you can see how the tabs go thru the handles and get attached to the top of the bag. To make the tabs, measure the opening of the purse handle, multiply this by 4. The length is determined by how much you want showing when finished. If you want very little to show, the length will be much shorter than if you want a lot to show. Fold this piece in half and press. Open and fold each side to the center, fold and press all. Stitch down each side, close to the edge. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Center the handles and baste each one to the top of the bag. If you are going to have a flap closure, now is the time to make that also.

With right sides together, put the main bag into the lining, making sure the handles are inside and won’t be caught when sewing the top. We are going to sew around the top.  (Remember, you left an opening n the bottom of the bag for turning.) Turn right side out and I like to sew a line right at the top of the bag very close to the seam. This gives a nicer finish to the top. Guess what, you’re done! Now, wasn’t that simple.

Tags: How-to

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