Flouncy Bag

Don't forget!  Today is the last day to enter the giveaway!!  :)
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Hi there!  I just wanted to share with you this fun guest post I wrote for Family Ever After.  It's a good 'un, and I've even got a fun Kindle Fire (or other tablet) pouch to match!  That tutorial is coming soon!  Anyway, enjoy!!  :)

As the mom to 5 boys, I have a few girly things, and crafting/sewing is one of those outlets. 

I love bags. And shoes, but bags are much easier to make!

I bought a book a while back that had several different purse and bag patterns in it. I took what I liked from about three of the patterns and came up with this:

For this bag you’ll need:

• one fat quarter bundle (or 1/2 a yard of your choice of fabric)
• fabric to line the bag (about 1/2 yard)
• one package of fusible interfacing
• buckle or other embellishments
• two D-rings
• 12-16 inches of 1/4 inch elastic
• thread, scissors, sewing machine, etc…

I didn’t use specific measurements for this bag. You can make it as big or as small as you’d like. Mine is big. At one point, I had a tub of wipes, seven diapers, three pairs of toddler shoes, a bottle of lotion, a Kindle Fire, my cell phone, wallet, and the book Harry Potter 7 all in my bag at one time.

Decide which fabrics you want on the outside of the bag and sew them together with the right sides facing each other.

On the back side, press the seams open.

You’ll notice in the picture above, that I have a horizontal seam in the leaf fabric. I did that so that the printed leaves would be going up on both sides of the bag. So, if your fabric has a print on it where the direction will be an issue, do the same thing. Otherwise you’ll have the print (leaves in my case) going up on one side of the bag, but pointing down on the other.

Cut a piece of interfacing the same size as the outside of the bag. Iron down the interfacing with the bumpy side of the interfacing on the WRONG side of the fabric.

Once the interfacing is adhered to the fabric, fold it all in half with the interfacing facing itself and press. This is going to be your guide for the bottom of the bag.

See? It’s so easy to see where the bottom of the bag is going to be now!

Now take the fabric that you’ll be lining the bag with and cut it the same size as the outside of the bag.

The fabric that I am using as the lining is part of a sheet set that I got on sale for $5.00. I made a skirt out of it, too!

Iron some interfacing to the wrong side of the lining. Once that’s done, put the two pieces of the bag together with the right sides facing out. Sew the pieces together around the edges using a basting stitch--a lengthened stitch that will be easy to pick out later.

Use a decorative stitch (if you want to) and sew the seams where the different fabrics connect. This is going to keep your bag from shifting.

Now let’s make a pocket for the inside of the bag.

*Note* I made mine too short. We will be adding to the top of the bag, so feel free to make your pocket taller!!

Cut some fabric (the same as the lining, or not. I won’t tell!) the same width of the bag, and probably the same height. Like I said, this one was too short. I mean, it works and all, but I would have liked it taller.

Serge and hem the raw edges on the top and bottom of the pocket. Don’t worry about the sides.

Lay the pocket on the inside center of the bag. Be sure the top and bottom of the pocket are going the same direction as the top and bottom of the main piece. See where the arrows are pointing? That is the center of the pocket lined up with the bottom of the bag--that line we pressed into it earlier. Remember?!

See? I know my fabrics are going opposite directions. I …ummm…meant to do that! No worries. It makes it easier for you to see what I am talking about in these next few steps!

Pin the pocket into place. You need that ironed in guide again. Flip the bag over so that the outside of the bag is facing up. Now sew a straight line right down the pressed line.

Now you’ll have pockets on both sides of the bag.

Now it’s time to sew the actual pockets. We’re going to make six.

Sew the pockets down to the edges of the bag. Now sew two straight lines down the pockets using the stitching we used to keep the bag from shifting as a guide. I’ll point to the pocket seams.

See how I lined up the pocket seam with the decorative stitching?

Now we have six pockets. Yay!

This is a really long tutorial, and we’re still not finished. Go get a snack and come back. I’m in no hurry. I’ll wait! :)

Cut a piece of 1/4 inch elastic to about 12-16 inches long. Line it up with that center seam that is going to be the bottom of the bag.

Start at one edge and stretch and zig-zag stitch it into place so that it ends at the other side.

(I have the other side folded over.) This elastic really scrunches it up. Now, fold the bag so that the pockets and the lining are facing out with the elastic at the BOTTOM.

Sew the sides together and round off the bottom corners. Serge or zig-zag the raw edges along the sides and along the opening.

It should look like this now…except with taller pockets! ;)

Now let’s gather the top opening of the bag. I did this with pleats. Like so:

Pinch about an inch of fabric, fold it over, and pin into place. Repeat around the opening of the bag.

Once everything is pinned, sew it into place with a straight stitch.

Hooray! The bag is starting to take form!

It’s time to add the band to the top of the bag. Take another piece of fabric from the fat quarter bundle (or your other fabric) and measure it so it’s the same width as the opening of the bag. x2, because you need a back piece! Make it twice as tall as you want it. You’ll see why in a bit.

Iron interfacing to the wrong sides of both pieces. Once you’ve done that, sew down the sides of the pieces with the right sides together.

Press the seams open. Now turn it right side out and fold it down inside itself so you have a short tube of fabric.

Like this:

Serge or zig-zag around the raw edge. This is the bottom of the band. Match it up with the top of the bag (with the right sides together) and sew them together.

Now turn the band right side up so that the serged edge is inside the bag. Top stitch around the top of the band. If you want to embellish this part with a little “belt” this is how:

Take two strips of fabric that are the same width of the bag where the band and bag meet up. Sew the pieces together on ONE of the short sides with the right sides together. Then sew the long sides together so you have one long, inside out tube.

Turn it right side out by using a safety pin to turn it in on itself. Thread the pin through to the other side and pull the tube right side out. Now thread the belt buckle (or whatever other embellishment you have) onto the strip of fabric.

Line it up where you want it:

…and sew it into place.

I secured it to the back and sides of the bag with these little gathered seams:

That is a terrible picture taken at my sewing table. Sorry. I sewed them over the decorative stitch so it would match up better.

Okay. Last step. The strap.

Make the strap the same way you did the belt--but without the buckle. Serge the raw edges. My strap is 24 inches long. Somehow, I didn’t get a picture of that. Sorry.

Now take two shorter pieces of fabric (same width as the strap) and do the same thing:

Once the tubes are turned right side out, thread the D-rings over them, fold them in half, and sew the top and bottom of the tube together. Do this for both short tubes.

Sew the short D-ring tubes onto the sides of the bag. Thread the strap through the top of the D-rings and sew them into place. Like so:

Ewww…clip your threads better than I did. Don’t worry. I fixed that later!

Now that you’ve endured this super long tutorial, you’ve got a super cute bag to make it all worth it!

Congratulations!

Be prepared to accept lots of compliments when you take this bag with you on your outings!