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DIY Sewing Bag

Posted by Aine on 11th Aug 2016

DIY Sewing Bag

Do you find you are constantly losing your pins, needles, thread, etc? This tutorial will show you how to make a simple zipped sewing bag to keep all your supplies together. 

You will need:

1/2 metre of cotton fabric for the outside of your bag

Fabric to use as a lining

Zip

Needle and thread

Medium weight iron-on interfacing

Ruler

With the range of patterned cottons we stock, choosing one was probably the hardest part of this project. Once I chose which fabric to use for the outside I then picked a zip and a lining to match it. 

First you will need to iron the interfacing onto the back of the cotton fabric to stiffen it, this will give the bag a more structured shape.

I made my bag 15cm x 25cm but you can use this same method to make a bag of any size. The basic shape of your bag pieces are shown here, you do not need a pattern to make it and you can adjust the shape to suit you. Just mark out 2 rectangles for the front and back of your bag and allow an extra couple of centimetres for a seam. The middle section will be the width of your bag. 

Once you are happy with the shape of your bag you can cut out the pieces. 

The next step is to sew in the zip.

Pin the zip, facing towards the outside of the bag. Then lay the lining on top of this, pin it in place and sew along the length of the zip. You will then repeat this on the other side of the bag.

Now that your zip is attached, the next step is to sew up your seams at the sides of the bag. Mark out the seam with a ruler and make sure to leave an opening in the lining, as shown. The bag needs to be sewn inside out and you will need this opening to turn the bag the right way out. It is important to leave the opening in the lining so that you can hide the stitches on the inside of your bag.

After this you will sew the corners of your bag as shown in the photos below. This will give it it's shape.

At this point you can turn your bag the right way around and sew up the opening in the lining

And that is your sewing bag completed! It is the perfect size to keep your thread, pins, needles, stitch rippers etc. You could also use this as a purse or makeup bag!

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