the basic messenger bag

8/11/2019 The Basic Messenger Bag

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the basic messenger bag

Jamie's on the left, Chelsea's on the right. This tutorial does not include the flap designs, alas.

As promised, here is the basic bag tutorial like the one I made Jamie and Chelsea. I havenot included the flap designs, just the basic bag. That will have to be another post. Becreative and come up with your own flap variations. Then showme!Jamie's was

applique only, and Chelsea's was a combo of piecing and applique. I have another one tosew up for my sister Lori's birthday and I'm going to do some patchwork this time.

I considered doing a PDF of the pattern pieces, but they are mostly too big to fit on

letter sized paper, and pretty easy to make yourself if you have a ruler, a 6.5 inch circle,and a coffee cup on hand. The coffee cup is to hold some hot coffee. Obviously.

Click on the image below to see or print a larger diagram for measurements. Thisis notto scale.

YARDAGE: Assuming the width is 45 inches, you'll need about a yard each of the outsideand the liner, plus your interfacing if you are using it.

THE FINISHED BAG DIMENSIONS, EXCLUDING THE STRAP:about 12 inches x 12 inches x 3 inches wide at the bottom.

1/4 INCH SEAM ALLOWANCE IS INCLUDED IN THE MEASUREMENTS. If you are morecomfortable with a larger seam allowance, be sure to add that when you draw your

pattern.

Draw and cut out all your paper pattern pieces. Draw a rectangle for the flap, then use a6.5 inch circle to trace the curved corners on the flap. I have an obliging embroideryhoop that is just the right size.
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Now trace and cut out your fabric.

NOTE: If your main fabric is not a heavy, purse-worthy weight you should consideradding a fairly stiff fusible interfacing on the strap, outside body, and outside flappieces. Cut out the interfacing in the same size as those pieces, and iron it on accordingto the manufacturer's instructions. But remember, you are going to have to turn this bag

through a 5 inch hole, so the interfacing shouldn't be too stiff for that.

NOTE YET AGAIN: Even if I don't specifically mention it below, you'll be of coursepressing and finishing your seams in your preferred method for each step.

1) Strap.Press it in half, right sides together, longwise so you have a 2 x 45 inch piece.Sew it closed along the long edge. Turn it right side out (use a hugemongous safety pin

like I do to help with this. Or if you have a fancy tube-turner, by all means, get thatthing in action). Press, then edgestitch down both sides. So now you have a lovely strapwith raw ends.

2)Outside Pocket.Align the outside pocket pieces right sides together and sew allaround, leaving a couple inches open on the bottom side to turn it. Snip the corners.

Turn and press. Pin it to the right side of the body piece, centered side to side and about3 inches down from what will be the top of the bag. Edgestitch it on the sides andbottom, leaving the top open (obviously) and backstitching at the beginning and end toreinforce.

3) Inside Pocket.Now do the same thing to assemble your inside pocket, but pin it tothe right side of the body lining fabric, centered from side to side and about 4 inchesdown from what will be the top of the bag. Edgestitch it on the sides and bottom, leavingthe top open and backstitching at the beginning and end to reinforce. Then stitch againdown the center from top to bottom to create two little pockets.
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4) Flap.Now is the time to do all your embellishing of the flap on the outside pieceBEFORE YOU SEW THE FLAP TOGETHER.

(Musical interlude while this creative wave crashes over you.)

Once your outside flap piece is appliqued or pieced or whatevered, you are ready to

proceed.

5)Align the (fabulous) flap outside and lining pieces right sides together. Sew allaround, leaving a 3 or 4 inch gap in the middle of the top edge for turning andbackstitching at beginning and end. Snip the corners and clip the curves. Turn it andpress, turning under the unsewn seam. Edgestitch all the way around. Now you have alovely finished, but disembodied, bag flap.

6)Lay the flap down right side up on the right side of the body piece (same end aswhere your pocket is), centered side to side and about 1.5 inches from the top edge.

Edgestitch following your previous stitches, then stitch again about a quarter inch fromthe edge, reinforcing at each end.
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7) The Body.Fold the body piece in half, right sides together, so you have a 14 x 12.5inch rectangle, with the flap tucked inside and out of the way. Pin and sew up both sides.

Finger press or press the bag flat so you have a line that goes down the center of thebottom of the bag. It's just a guideline. You are going to square the corners so your baghas a flat bottom. Heh. Pick it up, bring the side seams together at the top and lay it

back down with a corner pulled out and flattened so it looks like a triangle (see drawingbelow), with the side seam going down the middle of the triangle and lined up with theguideline you pressed in the center of the bottom of the bag. Pin it to keep all that inplace and use a ruler to draw an air soluble line at 3 inches acrossthe width, then sew

it securely. Now repeat this step with the other corner and also with your lining piece.You can trim off the excess corner or fold it under and tack it to add body to the bottomof the bag.

8)Now is the time to test the strap length. Turn the body right side out with the flap in

place. Pin the strap in place on both sides of the bag, centered with the side seams, andwith a 3/4 inch overlap. Sling it over your shoulder diagonally across your body. Sashayto a mirror and make any adjustments in strap length so the bag falls in a comfortableplace on your opposite hip. Unpin and trim your strap to the new length, being sure to

include the 3/4 inch overlap. Now baste your strap on the right side of the body upsidedown, centered with the side seams, and with the ends sticking out over thetop1/4inch. (Make sure the strap is not twisted! Because that would be really embarrassing

later. Ahem.)
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9)Now you need to put the body and the lining right sides together. So turn the liningright side in, and then stuff the body inside that one so that theirright sidesare facingeach other. I like my inside pocket to be on the same side of the bag as the outsidepocket, but that is just me. The flap and strap will be stuffed down in between the twolayers, so just tuck them in and smooth them down the inside so they stay out of theway of the stitching. Pin the body and lining together at the top, lining up the side seamsand the raw edges. The strap ends will be sticking up out of both sides.

10)Sew the body and lining together, reinforcing over the straps, and leaving about 4

or 5 inches open in the center of the flap side for turning. Make sure you backstitch atthe beginning and end really well. Turning this stiff fabric puts a lot of stress on yourbackstitches. Turn your creation and then stuff the lining down inside the bag. Wow.

Now it looks like a real bag!
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11)Press the seam around the top, rolling it between your fingers to get it as close tothe stitching as you can. Press under the seam allowance on the opening. Edgestitch all

the way around the top of the bag (don't catch the flap in your stitches. Ahem.). You'llprobably need to press the rest of the bag too, because after wrestling it through thehole it tends to look crumpled all over.

Shazam! You are done. Look at that fabulous bag you just made. Bravo!
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My friend Kristyn had a lingerie shower this past weekend and I decided to make her a

travel bag to go with the hardly-wearables I was giving her. My mom made me a similarbag when I got married, and it has come in very handy to protect my filmy and snag-able items from wear and tear inside the suitcase.

The fabric I used was a decor weightJade SomersetI have had for a while. What isitwith me and paisley lately?

It is very simple to make, but it took a couple tries to get the closure right. I thought atfirst I'd make it a drawstring bag and I had it gathered round the top with a really pretty

black and white grosgrain ribbon, but discovered that it would not cinch closed becausethe fabric was too bulky. Oops. So I cut off the the drawstring tube and sewed in azipper instead. Not as attractive maybe, but easier to use. Done.

If you are interested in making one, it is basically two 14 inch x 18 inch rectangles sewnright sides together with one short side left open for the zipper, then turned. I made a

silky lining that was the same size, dropped it inside the bag wrong sides facing, andbasted it around the top. Then I folded over the edges and sewed in the zipper.
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Repurposed DenimZipped pouch tutorial.

Zipped pouches can be used for so many things including for holding iPods, chargers and

earphones, for pencil cases, for carrying the little toys that are still attractive to this age group

(tiny cutesy miniature things that hurt parents a lot when they are stood on in the middle of the

night), for feminine hygiene products (yesthey are starting to grow up), for makeup or for hair-

ties, hairclips, etc. You can make them using cotton, laminated cotton, or repurposed jeans (my

newest addiction!).

This tutorial produces a zipped pouch that is 8 x 5 using repurposed denim.

Repurposed Denim Pouch

Materials

One pair of used denim jeans (wellactually one small part of a pair of denim jeansthe bottom

of one leg, or the seat and a bit of the thigh is enough!)

Cotton for lininga piece 17 x 5 cut into two pieces 8 1/2 x 5 1/2

Zipper that is longer than 8

Optionalsmall piece fusible fleece (for more body use Vilene H640, for less use Vilene H630).

Repurposing old denim jeans

To make this pouch you will need two squares of denim 8 x 5 . There are several easy

places to salvage this much denim fromit will depend on where your jeans are most worn. The

bottom of the legs, below the knee and above the hem tends to yield the best quality denim, but I

am also partial to including a back pocket as a pocket on the outside of the pouch that can be

used as a pocket on the pouch. If the fabric around the pocket is a little worn, then some fusible

interfacing can assist to provide some added stability to the fabric.

If you want to add some padding to the pouch, then follow the directions for the fusible fleece and

adhere it to the wrong side of the denim before you start sewing.. I recommend cutting your

piece smaller than the denim (i.e. 8 x 5) so that your seams arent too bulky.


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1.

To insert the zip it is useful, but not necessary, to use a zip foot. Take your first square

of denim and place it face down on top of the zip so that the top edge of the fabric lines

up with the top edge of the zip. The right side of the zip and the right side of the fabric

will be facing each other. Ensure that the zip ends overhang the fabric on each

side. Then take one piece of your lining fabric and place it on the other side of the zip,

with the right side facing the right side of the denim. This is often described as a zip

sandwich. Pin the three pieces together and then stitch along the top edge from the

edge.
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2. Flip the fabric back so that the right side of the denim is now facing up and the right side of

the lining is facing down. Repeat the same step with the second piece of denim fabric and the

lining fabric on the other side of the zip, making sure that the sides of the pieces line up with the

fabric already attached to the zip. (NBif you are using a pocket from the jeans, make sure that

the top of the pocket is nearest to the zip seam! It may also be a bit bulky so be prepared to

ease the fabric under the foot.)

3. Denim is quite heavy, so you can either finger press, or use an iron to press the top and

bottom pieces so that they sit flat along the zip. The next step is optional but I recommend top

stitching along the edges of the zip to stop the lining getting caught in the zip down the track. Todo this measure one inch from the edge of the fabric, and then top-stitch a line along the edge of
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the seam and stop one inch from the other end. (Starting and stopping before the edge of the

fabric enables you to sew the pouch sides together with relative ease.) Repeat this on the other

side of the zip, matching the start and finish points.

4. Before you sew the sides of the pouch, open the zipper at least half way so that the zip pull is

in the middle of the zip. Then put the right sides of the lining together and match up the edges,

and the right sides of the denim together and match up their edges. Pin the zip so that the teeth

of the zip are facing towards the outer fabric when you are pinning it in place.
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Leaving a gap of about 3 inches will allow you to turn the pouch inside out. Open up the seam

on the side so that you are sewing the fabric without it being caught by the top stitching near the

zip.

6. Once you have sewn the edges of the pouch, clip the corners, and then clip the excess fabric

around the zip, so that the long ends are cut off and the bulk of the fabric next to the seam is

removed. Be careful not to cut the stitching and consider applying an extra row of stitching as

reinforcement here.

Clipping the seam where the zip ends helps reduce bulk.

7. Turn your pouch inside out, so that the denim is facing out and the lining is tucked in the

pouch. Make sure that your corners are pushed out properly, and ensure that your zip corners

are pushed up properly. Then either handstitch the side seam in the pouch closed or use your

machine to stitch a line to close it.
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FYLANZOS

SANCHOZAS

FYLANZOS

SANCHOZAS

FYLANZOS SANCHOZAS

FYLANZOS

FYLANZOS SANCHOZAS

amour pour toujours


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Amour pour

toujours

the basic messenger bag

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