Bags Bags, and More Bags -- a Little How To

This is the fabric I chose for the outside of the bag.  I cut as big a piece as I could from the fabric which I dye painted many many years ago!  It is about 23 inches wide and 18 inches long (sideways in the pic!).

Because this was fairly heavy fabric, I marked the squares in the corners that I needed to cut.  They were about 3 inches.

Here is the outside fabric with the squares cut out.  The next step is to sew the side seams after placing the fabric right sides together.  Then you sew the bottom seam.

Then you pull the two sides apart so that the bottom seems and side seams are on top of one another and sew.  This form the squared bottom.

I attach the straps at this tiime so they are laying against the front and back.  I make sure they are even.  If you don't have straps, you make them with the instructions below.

This is the Kaffe Fassett favric I selected for the inside.  You sew this slightly differently.  You sew the sides as you did the outside, right sides together.  However on the bottom seam, you leave a 5 inch opening.  You sew the squared part the same also.

Although not shown here, I made straps from 2 1/2 inch strips about 22 inches long.  I interface with a 2 inch piece of interfacing centered in the middle  I also iron over the 1/4 inch seams down to make the sewing easiers.  I fold it over and sew next the edge on both sides with matching thread.

  
You then place the outside bag insde the lining, pinning at the edges and where the straps are, making sure the straps are safely stored between the two layers.  Sew all the way around the top.

Then you pull the outside bag through the whole you made on the bottom of the lining.  Then you sew the lining hole up.  Stuff the lining neatly insde the outside piece  Then carefull top stitch along the top of the finished bag and voiila!.   

This is the finished bag..

This another bag.  I had to add some pseudo-suede as I didn't have a very larrge piece of the painted fabric.
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A Little How To for the Many Bags That I have Made

This is one of the simpler bags you can made and I have made it in many sizes.  Below are directions for constructing the bag which you can make the size you want.

1. Assemble the fabric.  You will need enough of 2 fabrics to cut out a front, back, 2 sides and a bottom,  You might want some for additional pockets as well. You will also need some fusible interfacting.  I also cut out two 2 1/2 in x 22 in strips of interfacting and fabric for the handles,  This is pretty consistent for straps no matter the size of the bag.

2.  Decide what size you want the bag. For instance, say one that is 18 in high, 12 inces wide and 4 inches deep.  You would then cut fabric for back and front, then sides and then the bottom,  You need to cut the lining, main fabric and the interfacting the same  size,  I add a alf inch to each dimension so I would cut 19 x 13 inch pieces for the front and back

 19 x  5 inches for the sides and 5 x 13 inch piece for the bottom, 

3. Iron the interfacingt onto the front and back pieces.

4.  Iron the interfacting onto the straps.  Fold the straps in half and fold over the sides so that they are one inch wide  Sew down both sides,  Attach to the main fabric by laying the strap facing the bottom of the bag and sew down.  Fold up so the straps are facing the top and sew around a once inch square.

5.  Place lining fabric on top of the main front and back right sides together making sure straps are not caught along the top.  Sew along the top and then open up,

6.  Do the same for the two side pieces.

7.   Pin the lining/main fabric pieces together so they don't slip, then sew the side pieces to the main pieces leaving a 1/2 inch opening at the bottom,  Pin the bottom on and sew all the way 

to about 1/2 inch from the sides.  Trim all the seams to 1/4 inch.  

8.   On the right side sew about 3/8 of an inch at each seam.  This is so there will be no raw edges in the bag.

At the beginning, you might also decide to add a pocket to the lining or the outside and this should be done at the time you are adding on the straps,

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Catching Up!

 

I decided to do some dyeing this past week while my husband was away.  I was anxious to try a new technique I saw on FB.  It seemed it would be less work than some of the other techniques I use in Ice dyeing.  

The technique is to apply the dye directly to the fabric, sprinkle some soda ash on top and then cover with the with the ice.  The tshirts were first soaked in soda ash solution for several hours and then dried before applying the dyes.

Hint -- it was probably not less work and I am not sure I am crazy about the results but it was worth a try.  There was so  much dye used that the rinse out was a super pain!!  Bloggerf is not behaving and keeps losing my pictures and making all my text get underlined and changing colors!

This was an attempt and vertical stripes but not very successful.

This was probably the one I liked the best of the bunch!

A slightly more successful stripey one.

Not too bad but still not there!

This and the next top were both finished from the same flowered fabric and I have a lot more but will use to back one of the quilts.The third picture is the fabric I used,

These are more of the wonky log cabin blocks and I am seriously getting sick of the blue strips I have!!  I decided to use some of them to make a large tote bag which is pictured below.  Because I don't have a great cutting surface here, it was touchy but I got it done and it is practical.  I will probably quilt the bag if I do another one,  I certainly have enough of these blocks!

Back to doing a quilt as you go quilt.  I am further along now and used a medium blue for the sashing and the binding.  The back is really pretty cute but find this a little too bright even for me.  As I mentioned before, I am sick of these blue strips and still have a large bag filled with them!