Lima Bag Pattern & Tutorial

Bag pattern & tutorial with illustrated instructions

 

It is an easy-to-make bag, perfect for those who have recently start sewing bags and want to make another step forward. The bag has an original size, giving some extra capacity than the common rectangular bags. Following the pattern you will learn how to install an adjustable strap, which is always useful! :)

 Download Bag PDF Pattern

Bag nal size: 13” (high) x 15” (width)

 Pattern information

Make sure to read and understand all the pattern instructions before you begin
All seams are 3/8” allowance
RST means right sides together
WST mean wrong sides together
RSO mean right side of the fabric out
RSU mean right side of the fabric up
RSD mean right side of the fabric down
WOF mean width of fabric

Materials needed

- 0,75 yards of cotton canvas or knitted canvas for the bag exterior, the interior pocket
- 1 yards of cotton canvas or cotton fabric for lining*, zipper tab and the strap
- 1.5 yards of cotton strap of 1 ” wide.
- 11“ non-separating zipper
- 1 x 1 ” strap slider and 2 x 1 ” metal rectangle

*batting can be added between exterior canvas and lining canvas if it’s desired

Notions and tools: rotary cutter, ruler and cutting would be useful; also sisors, temporary marker, pins, sewing machine with 3/8” and zipper foot and an iron.

Assembling pattern diagram

Print pattern diagram pages on your home printer. Be sure that your printer is NOT set to “t to page” when printing.
Cut along solid and dashed lines, tape together, butting up lines at marked letters 

 

Cutting instructions

- From exterior canvas cut:
   - 2 x pattern diagram
   - 1 rectangle of 15” x 8.5”
- From lining canvas cut:
   - 2 x pattern diagram
   - 2 squares of 2” x 2”

- One strip of 6” x 62” (if you use a fabric of les than 62” width , you will need to cut two strips to
get the full length of the strap)
- two squares of 6” x 6”

Sewing instructions

THE ZIPPER

1. Align the ending of the zipper tab to the zipper ending and sew along both raw edges.

 

2. Fold the tab WST, folding the raw edge and aliging it with the sewed edge. Sew along, closed to the edge. Repeat for the other zipper tab.

 

INTERIOR POCKET
3. Fold the interior pocket rectangle by half RST. Sew along the edges keeping an opening of about 3”. Clip corners and turn it RSO. Press it and stitch along the top

4. Center the pocket to the lining back piece. Pin it in place and sew along the side edges and bottom edge, closing the opening.

ASSEMBLING THE BAG
 5. Place the back lining RSU, then the zipper centered RSU and nally the bag exterior panel RSD. Using a zipper-foot, sew along the top edge of the bag.

6. Position fabrics WST. Press and top stitch along zipper edge.

7. Repeat the steps 5 and 6 for the front panel of the bag:
Place the other lining panel RSU, then center the zipper RSU and nally the front bag exterior RSD. Pin it in place and sew along the top edge of the bag using the zipper foot.
Position fabrics WST. Press and top stitch along zipper edge.

8. Open the zipper halfway. Position fabrics so that exteriors are RST and linings are RST too.
Sew along the perimeter of both exterior and lining, leaving a 5”opening in the lining. Be careful to not sew through the tabs, but close to they ending. You won’t be able to see them, but feel for the tabs through the fabric layers.

BAG DARTS
 9. With the bag RST, pin each corner, aligning the side seam to bottom seam. Make a mark at 3” from the corner at each side, and naly draw a perpendicular line to the seam, joining the marks that you’ve made. Sew on this line.

10. Trim seam allowance to 1/2”. Repeat for remaining corners (two exterior and two lining pieces). Once you’re nish with the corners, turn the bag RSO through the lining opening you left. Sew the opneing closed by machine and push lining into the assembled exterior. Set aside.

MAKE THE STRAP
 11. Take the canvas for the strap. If you are using more than one strip, sew them together to get a long strap of 6” x 62”.
Place the cotton strap aligned at the left side of the canvas strap RSD and at 1/2” of the top short edge. Fold the short edge of both strap ends and top stitch lengthwise close to the edge.

12. Fold the canvas strip, covering the cotton strap. Hide the raw edge and topstitch along long edges. Add additional rows of topstitching as desired.

13. Take the strap and loop it over the middle bar of strap  slider piece. Fold strap over so it bends back on itself by 2”. Sew in place.

14. Take the oposite long strap end, thread through the other metal rectangle, and then loop it up and over the center bar oh the slider hardware piece, and back down the other side. Add another metal rectangle at the end of the strap, folding back by 2” and sewing on itself.

15. Take the 6” x 6” canvas squares. Fold two oposite raw edges 1/4” inside and press. Then fold the remaining raw edges to the middle, hiding them. Press and fold in half again. Press.

16. Loop the small canvas straps through the metal rectangle at the end of the long strap. Place it at the exterior bag, one end at the front and the other end at the bag, at 2” from the right side edge and 2.5” from the zipper edge. Make sure that the strap isn’t twisted. Pin it inplace and topstitch several lines to keep it strongly in place.