Tutorial #1
Thanks to Rachel for having us here! As the mom to 5 boys, I have a few girly things, and crafting/sewing is one of those outlets. Ash & I are cousins who love to do
crafty/sewing/refashioning/home decor projects and chronicle our fun
times. Come stop by Crafting Cousins sometime! We’d love to see ya!
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!

Tutorial #2
Thanks to Rachel for having us here! I’ve been loving seeing the fun
things the other crushes have come up with, and actually have been
pretty intimidated! But Nat & I are excited to be here, and
share some of our recent sewing projects. Nat had hers ready about 1
month ago, and I finally finished mine right before I emailed it to
Rachel 🙂 What can you do? It’s kinda the story of our life, that’s why
we work so well together! We’re cousins who love to do
crafty/sewing/refashioning/home decor projects and chronicle our fun
times. Come stop by Crafting Cousins sometime! We’d love to see ya!

I got some clothes from someone that wouldn’t fit them, so they passed them on to me. I really liked the color of the top (it’s a coral/salmon color, but hubby would say it’s pink), and it had some unique things, but it was so tight and clingy. I don’t really want to wear a top that shows my belly button indent through the top. Know what I mean? It also had a weird knot thing at the bust, and a seam down the front that just wouldn’t stay centered, so it always seemed off. The front is longer than the back. Maybe it’s a maternity top? I dunno. But, here it is:

Now, I had a friend that wore a cool top, and I really liked the look of it, and a few days later I was at the mall, and saw the top! Hers was cream and lace, this one was red. So I snapped a quick picture to stew in my brain for a bit. (in case you’re wondering, the store was Head Over Heels at the Layton Hills Mall. I don’t know if that’s where she got it, but it looked like it)

So, I kept seeing that coral top, and never wearing it because I didn’t like how it fit. So, what if I add lace to it like the inspiration top? First thing I did was cut up the seams on the front and sides (while watching a movie). Like so:

Then, I got my lace. I went into a fabric store with the kidlets, and couldn’t find any stretchy lacey fabric, so I went with a trim. It’s 4” wide if you’re curious.

I ironed the lace in half to get a crease in the middle

and then put it in one of the side seams, matching the middle of it with the underarm where I had stopped unpicking, and it turned out really wonky.

This is after ironing it. I didn’t pin it, just laid them on top of each other and went for it. The problem is, one is stretchy knit, the other is woven lace. Not gonna work. So, do as I say, not as I did. It’s really not fun to unpick lace. Just FYI.

Pin the shirt to the lace on a flat surface, without stretching it at all!!! That’s the ticket.

See I matched the middle of the lace up under the arm, and then the edges match at the bottom. Then, sew it on your machine without stretching! As you’re going along, if the fabric is trying to stretch, just put the needle in, lift up the presser foot, and smooth things out. I probably did this every few inches.

Then, after you sew one half, lay it out again and pin the other side and sew. It turned out so much smoother!

Notice how I left extra lace hanging past the hem? Yep, that’s on purpose. Make sure you leave about an inch. After I did the sides and front, I ironed the shirt in half in the back, matching up seams as best as I could.

It’s very faint, but there’s a line that I followed to cut.

I cut it up the back, and then sewed the lace panel in the back. After I sewed them all in, I turned the shirt inside out, and this is what it looked like.

I ironed it flat, so the lace is smooth.

Then, I decided to top stich on the outside to make sure everything would stay flat. (lifting up the presser foot periodically as needed and keeping it smooth with your fingers)

Then, it looked so nice!

Then, I turned it inside out again and carefully trimmed the extra lace off (don’t cut your shirt or lace!)

My shirt was finished on the hem with a skinny rolled serge, but my serger is acting up, and I don’t have matching thread, so I went with a zigzag stitch. I just made the hems match up with an imaginary line I sewed on.

It’s faint, but there’s a pink line across the bottom: (seriously, have you tried to take a picture of white lace on a white table? It’s like the time Nat made Invisibility Cloaks for her boys!)

Then, I trimmed off the extra again.

And the shirt is finished!

Gotta love awkward self portraits, right?

Maybe I’ll wear it to my 10 year high school reunion tomorrow! We’ll see…

Some tips:
If you’re going to try this, it would probably be a little easier to use a woven shirt with woven lace, or stretchy lace with a knit shirt.
It’s really not fun to unpick lace. Make sure to buy a little extra…just in case:)
Coral/Salmon doesn’t like to photography consistently. So it is the same shirt even if it keeps changing color!
Come over and show us if you make one! I’d love to see it!