Messenger Bag Sewing Tutorial

Here is a great gift for the sports fan or wildlife watcher in your life– a padded bag to keep their binoculars safe in style! The bag has a removable clip-on strap, but can also be clipped to a belt loop when the strap is removed.

The finished bag here measures 7” x 5” x 2”. You can adjust the measurements as necessary to fit your particular binoculars. Here’s what you will need to make your Binocular Bag;

Materials:

    Main Fabric – 1/3 yard
    Contrast Fabrics – Scraps of 4 different solids, approx. 8” x 1”
    Lining Fabric – 1FQ
    Fusible Fleece – Vilene H640/Pellon 987 or similar, 20” square
    Lightweight fusible interfacing – strip 34” x 1” and 1” square
    1 Magnetic Snap
    2 x 0.75” silver D-rings
    2 x 0.75” silver swivel hooks

Remember:

    Seam allowances are ¼” throughout unless stated otherwise.
    Press seams after stitching.

Cut the Following:
From Main Fabric (I used Kona Ash):

    2 strips 8.5” x 1.5”
    5 strips 4.25” x 1”
    5 strips 2.75” x 1”
    4 strips 3.25” x 1”
    4 strips 3.75” x 1”
    1 strip 5.25” x 1”
    1 strip 1.75” x 1”
    1 rectangle 8.5” x 7.5”
    1 rectangle 5.5” x 5”
    2 squares 3” x 3”
    1 strip 34.5” x 3”

From each of the contrast fabrics (I used scraps of Kona Chartreuse, Clover, Green Tea and Jungle):

    3 strips 2.5” x 1”

From the Lining fabric (I used Road 15 by Sweetwater):

    2 rectangles 8.5” x 7.5”
    1 rectangle 5.5” x 5”

From the fusible fleece:

    2 rectangles 8.5” x 7.5”
    1 rectangle 5.5” x 5”

Step 1: Preparing the Fabric
Fuse the fusible fleece to the corresponding Main Fabric plain back and flap pieces.

Step 2: Constructing the Bag Front
Arrange your Main Fabric and Contrast Fabric pieces in the following order, mixing up the Contrast Fabric pieces as you go.

    Rows 1,3.5.7 & 9 – 4.25” Main Fabric, Contrast Fabric, 2.75” Main Fabric
    Rows 2,4,8 & 10 – 3.25” Main Fabric, Contrast Fabric, 3.75” Main Fabric
    Row 6 – 5.25” Main Fabric, Contrast Fabric, 1.75” Main Fabric

Stitch the pieced strips together. Add the Main Fabric 8.5” x 1.5” strips to each side of the pieced block.

Fuse the pieced block to the remaining fusible fleece rectangle.

Step 3: Making the Bag Flap
Using a round object such as a large spool, with an air or water-erasable pen draw a curved edge on two adjacent corners on the shorter side of the 5.5” x 5” Main Fabric piece.

Cut away the marked fabric beyond the drawn line. Repeat for the lining 5.5” x 5” fabric piece.

On the lining flap piece mark a point 2.5” from the longer side edge and 1.25” from the shorter edge where the corners have been rounded. Fuse the 1” square of interfacing to the wrong side of the lining fabric centering on the mark made. Attach one half of the magnetic snap to the lining piece at the mark.

Place the flap fabric pieces together, right sides facing, and stitch around the sides and bottom of the flap leaving the straight, top edge open. Snip the curved edges and turn the flap right sides out. Press and topstitch around the sides and bottom of the flap. Set aside.

Step 4: Constructing the Bag Body
Place the bag front and back pieces together, right sides facing, and stitch around the side and bottom edges.

Create a boxed corner for the bag by pulling apart the front and back pieces and folding the corner flat, matching the side and bottom seams. Measure and mark the point where the diagonal is 2” across. Stitch on this line.

Cut away the excess triangle. Repeat for the other corner and turn the bag out to the right side.

Repeat the above steps for the Lining Back and Front, but leave a gap in the bottom seam for turning the bag out later.

Measure and mark 1.25” from the top edge of the Bag Front at the seam between the 5th and 6th pieced strips. Attach the remaining half of the magnetic snap at the marked point.

Step 5: Creating the Strap Loops and Straps
Press a 0.25” fold along opposite sides of each 3” square. Fold the square in half width-ways with the pressed edges at the sides. Open out the square and fold the raw top and bottom edges in to the center crease. Press. Fold in half width-ways again to create a 0.75” x 2.5” strap loop. Topstitch along each long edge and set aside.

Repeat the same steps with the 34.5” x 3” strap piece, fusing the interfacing strip to one of the inner folds as you fold the edges in to the center.

Thread the ends of the strap through the loops of the swivel hooks. Fold over enough of the bag strap so you can stitch the end of the strap to the front of the strap in a box formation to secure.

Step 6: Making up the Bag
Thread the Bag Strap Loops you set aside in the previous step through the D–rings and pin one to each side of the Bag exterior, centering the loops on the side seams.

Pin the bag flap to the bag back, right sides facing, centering the flap on the bag back.

Baste the bag strap loops and bag flap to the bag body, stitching within the 0.25” seam allowance.

Insert the bag body into the lining body right sides together and pin, matching the side seams.

Stitch around the top edge of the bag, securing the bag flap and bag strap loops as you do so.

Pull the bag out through the gap in the lining and slip stitch the lining closed.

Push the lining into the bag body and press the top edge of the bag.

Topstitch around the top edge of the bag.

Attach the bag strap and get ready to view the world in close-up!

Thanks for taking the time to read this tutorial