Patchwork Bag Tutorial

This practical yet pretty patchwork bag features a front flap made from woven strips of fabric. We wanted the bag to be useful as well as attractive, so designed it to have a roomy interior, an inner pocket, a magnetic closure and a strap long enough to be worn across the body, although you could easily alter the strap length to your favourite style.

Finished size
Approx 28cm (11in) wide x 25.5cm (10in) high x 5cm (2in) deep, excluding handles

Materials
Quantities of fabrics A, B, C and D assume a useable fabric width of 42in
✦  25cm (1⁄4yd) fabric A (Make a Wish A58-1) for front flap
✦  25cm (1⁄4yd) fabric B (Make a Wish A56-3) for front flap  
✦  50cm (1⁄2yd) fabric C (Make a Wish A57-3) for outer bag, strap and binding
✦  50cm (1⁄2yd) fabric D (Honey Meadow A031-1) for lining
✦  21.5cm (8 1⁄2in) square of fabric E (Honey Meadow A033-1) for pocket
✦  33 x 31.5cm (13 x 12in) rectangle of HeatnBond Lite or other fusible web
✦  28 x 25.5cm (11 x 10in) piece of paper (photocopy paper is ideal)
✦  38 x 81.5cm (15 x 32in) of cotton wadding
✦  15cm ( 1⁄8yd) H250 Vilene or other fi rm fusible interfacing
✦  One 1.5cm (1⁄8in) wide sew-in magnetic fastener
✦  Two 2.5cm (1in) wide oblong rings
✦  Neutral piecing thread
✦  Quilting thread
✦  Frixion pen or other marker
✦  Temporary spray adhesive (optional)
✦  Binding clips (optional)
✦  Baking parchment (optional, to protect your iron)

Preparation
All measurements include 1⁄4in seam allowances, unless otherwise stated.

 

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS

1 From fabric A, carefully cut eleven 2 x 13in strips.

2 From fabric B, carefully cut twelve 2 x 12in strips.

3 From fabric C, cut the following pieces:
✦ One 10 1⁄2in wide x width of fabric strip and from this cut two 11 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2in rectangles for the bag front and back. Set the rest of the strip aside for the flap binding
✦ One 2 1⁄2in wide x width of fabric strip for the strap
✦ One 2 1⁄2in wide x width of fabric strip and sub-cut this into one 30in length for the gusset and two 4in lengths for the ring tabs

4 From fabric D, cut the following pieces:
✦ One 13 x 12in rectangle for the front flap lining
✦ Two 11 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2in rectangles for the bag front and back lining
✦ One 2 1⁄2in x 30in strip for the gusset lining

5 From the wadding, cut the following pieces:
✦ Two 11 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2in rectangles for the bag front and back
✦ One 2 1⁄2in x 30in strip for the gusset

6 From the H250 Vilene, cut two 2in wide x width of fabric strips and from one of the strips sub-cut two 4in lengths.

MAKING THE FLAP TEMPLATE

1 Take the piece of paper and with the 11in as the width, mark 3in from each  side of both bottom corners. Using a tea plate or saucer round off the bottom corners between the marked points (Sara used a 7 1⁄2in wide tea plate). Cut away the rounded corners to give a ‘D’ shaped template (Fig 1).

Fig 1 Making the flap template

Fig 2 Vilene fused to ring tab

Fig 3 The stitched ring tab

MAKING THE POCKET

1 With right sides together and matching raw edges, fold the 8 1⁄2in fabric E square in half. Stitch round the three open sides, leaving a 3in gap on the long edge to turn through. Trim the corners, turn through and slipstitch the gap closed. Roll the seams so that they are on the edges of the pocket and press.
Topstitch along the folded edge approximately 1⁄8in from the edge and then 1⁄2in below this first line of topstitching. Set aside for the moment.

MAKING THE RING TABS

1 Take the two 2 1⁄2 x 4in fabric C ring tabs. Centrally and on the wrong side of each ring tab, fuse a 2 x 4in rectangle of Vilene – there will be 1⁄4in of fabric showing on each long edge (Fig 2).

2  Press the 1⁄4in of fabric over onto the Vilene, then fold the strip wrong sides together along the length to enclose all the raw edges. Topstitch down both long edges approximately 1⁄8in away from the edge.

3 Thread an oblong ring onto each ring tab. Fold the ring tab in half and stitch  close to the oblong ring to secure (Fig 3).

Fig 4 Flap with A strips added 

Fig 5 Flap with first B strip partially woven

MAKING THE STRAP

1 Centrally and on the wrong side of the
fabric C strip for the strap, fuse the 2in
width of fabric Vilene – there will be
1⁄4in of fabric showing on each long edge. Butt the shorter Vilene strip up against the first one and fuse in place until the length of fabric C is covered. Trim away the excess Vilene. Press the 1⁄4in of fabric over onto the Vilene and then fold the strip wrong sides together along the length to enclose all the raw edges. Topstitch down both long edges about
1⁄8in away from the edge.

MAKING THE FRONT FLAP

1 Following the manufacturer’s instructions, fuse the HeatnBond or other fusible to the wrong side of the fabric D flap lining. When cool, remove the paper.

2 With wrong sides together, fold the long edges of each of the fabric A and fabric B strips into the centre so the raw edges meet and press to create strips 1in wide.

3 On a medium-size cutting mat, place the flap lining fabric, fusible side up, with the 13in measurement as the width. On the left edge of the flap lining, place the fabric A strips folded side down on the fusible, butting the strips up next to each other. Pin down the left edge of the strips (Fig 4).

4 Starting on the left edge, pin a fabric B strip to the top edge and then weave the B strip under the first fabric A strip, over the second fabric A strip, repeating the ‘unders’ and ‘overs’ until the strip is
fully woven. Pin in place at the bottom of the fabric B strip. Fig 5 shows the first B strip partially woven.

5 Continue adding and weaving the fabric B strips until the lining is completely covered. Make sure that the strips are straight both vertically and horizontally. When you are happy with the weave, pin the fabric B strips in place along the right edge.

6  Take your woven fabric on the cutting mat to the ironing board and slide the woven fabric on to the ironing board. This is much easier than trying to pick up the fabric and avoids your strips moving a little. Place baking parchment on top of your work to protect the iron and fuse in place, removing the pins before you press. You are pressing through four layers of fabric so be patient as it may take a little longer for the adhesive to work (Fig 6). Once it is fused, flip your work over and press gently from the lining side to make sure it is all held together.

7  Using a walking foot and a decorative stitch, quilt the woven fabric – Sara used a pre-programmed decorative wavy stitch and stitched down the centre of each strip (Fig 7).

Fig 6 The fused woven fabric 

Fig 7 Quilted woven fabric

8  Place the flap template you made earlier on the right side of the woven fabric, pin in place and draw around the template with a suitable fabric marker – Sara used a Frixion pen (Fig 8). Remove
the template and using a straight stitch, stitch 1⁄8in inside the drawn line to secure the outer edge of the flap. Cut out the flap on the drawn line (Fig 9).

9  Take the fabric C piece set aside for the flap binding and using the 45-degree line on your quilter’s ruler cut 2 1⁄4in wide bias-cut strips. With wrong sides together, join the bias strips with right-angled seams to make a length of approximately 50in. Trim the ‘ears’ and fold wrong sides together along the length.

Fig 8 Marking the template on the woven fabric 

Fig 9 Cutting out the flap shape

10  Working from the right side and starting partway along the top edge of the flap, stitch the binding to the flap,
folding a mitre at each corner as you go.
Before completing your stitching, neaten the short raw end of the starting piece and insert the ending piece into it. Flip the binding over on to the lining side and slipstitch in place. Sadie used clips to hold the binding in place ready to slipstitch (see Fig 10).

MAKING THE OUTER BAG

1 Place the two 11 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2in fabric C rectangles right side up on the 11 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄2in rectangles of wadding and pin or spray baste the layers together. With the 11 1⁄2in measurement as the width, quilt as desired. Sadie stitched parallel lines 1in apart down the length of the bag (the 10 1⁄2in measurement).

2  Using a Frixion pen or suitable marker, on both the front and back pieces mark 3in from each side of both bottom corners and using a tea plate or saucer round off the bottom corners between the marked points – Sara used a 7 1⁄2in wide tea plate. Cut away the rounded corners to create a ‘D’ shaped piece of fabric.

3 Place the 2 1⁄2 x 30in fabric C gusset right side up on the 2 1⁄2 x 30in rectangle of wadding and pin or spray baste the layers in place. Quilt as desired. Sadie stitched parallel lines 1in apart down the length of the gusset.
 
4  Mark the midpoint of the gusset and the midpoint of the base of the bag.  With right sides together and matching midpoints, pin the gusset to the front of the bag and stitch in place. The gusset is
longer than you need and the excess will extend further than the bag front.

Fig 10 Flap with binding folded back and clipped into place 

5  With right sides together and matching midpoints, pin the gusset to the back of the bag and stitch in place. Trim the excess gusset fabric at the top edge of bag.

6  With the bag right side out, place a ring tab on each side of the gusset, with the raw edge of the ring tab 1⁄4in above the raw edge of the gusset. Stitch in place with a scant 1⁄4in seam, stitching over two or three times for added security (Fig 11).

Fig 11 Sewing the ring tabs in place

MAKING THE LINING

1  Centrally and 2 1⁄2in down from the top edge, place the pocket on the right side of the back lining with the 11 1⁄2in measurement as the width. Make sure the folded edge of the pocket is at the top.
Stitch in place along the sides and lower edge (Fig 12). Divide the pocket into compartments with a line of stitching –Sadie stitched centrally down the pocket to give two equal compartments.

2 Round off the bottom corners of the lining as you did in Step 2 of Making the Outer Bag.

3 Stitch the gusset lining to the front and back linings as you did in Steps 4–5 of Making the Outer Bag. Fig 13 shows how the gusset is stitched in place, using the bag back piece as an example.

Fig 12 Back lining with pocket in place 

Fig 13 The gusset stitched in place on the back lining

ASSEMBLING THE BAG

1 With right sides together and aligning raw edges and matching seams, place the outer bag inside the lining, making sure the ring tabs are tucked down between the layers. Pin well and stitch around the top edge, leaving a 4in gap at the back of the bag to turn through. Turn through to the right side (Fig 14).

2  Slipstitch the gap closed and push the lining down into the bag. Roll the top edge, so that the seam is at the top and the ring tabs are pointing upwards and press. Topstitch around the top of the bag 1⁄4in from the edge.

3  Overlapping by 1in, place the wrong side of the flap against the right side of  the bag back and stitch in place close to the flap binding (Fig 15). Take care that you don’t catch the front of the bag in the stitching. Sadie removed the sewing table from her machine so that the bag fitted over the end of the machine, allowing her just to stitch the flap to the back of the bag.

Fig 14 Bag assembled and turned through 

Fig 15 Adding the flap to the bag

4  Sew one part of the magnetic press stud to the inside of the flap approximately 1 1⁄4in up from the bottom edge and sew the other part to correspond on the front of the bag.

5  Thread the strap ends through the oblong rings. Adjust the strap to length as desired – Sadie used the full length of the strap so that the bag can be worn cross body. On the inner side of the strap, fold over the strap ends over by 1⁄2in and then a further 1⁄2in to neaten and then stitch in place.