Today I have a fast, fairly simple…
tutorial.
{So…this is more like a tote but I couldn’t resist the alliteration rhythm I had going. :)}
I don’t share a pattern for the bag,
but I whipped up my own in 5 minutes and you can too.
Materials:
3/4 yard outer fabric
– I used a poly/cotton blend from Joann’s
3/4 yard liner fabric
– I used the “wrong” side of some shiny polyester fabric from Hobby Lobby…you know the kind they use for formal wear. It is very inexpensive and really adds a more finished touch to the bag.
hooped handles
– I purchased these stained bamboo ones from Joann’s.
You can also make your own which I will share at the end.
large piece of paper, pencil, sharpie/disappearing ink marker, scissors for cutting paper
thread, sewing scissors, pins, etc…sewing basics
Step One:
Make your pattern. I used freezer paper because it is wider so I don’t have to piece computer paper together. Newspaper or butcher paper works great too. The freezer paper is a lot sturdier though which is helpful for when I want to reuse it.
Draw a shape kind of like this.
You only need to draw half of the purse.
You want the top indented part to be long enough to fold over the hoops plus about 1/2 – 1 inch more.
Make a notch at the bottom corner. This is what gives it it’s shape and width.
I made two purses. For the second one I widened the notch more and was happier with the look it achieved. Play around with it. This type of purse is fairly forgiving.
Just remember that the length of the notch is going to be half the width of the finished purse.
Cut out your pattern.
Step Two:
Trace and cut 2 outer pieces and 2 liner pieces.
If you are opting to sew in a pocket. Cut that pocket out at this time.
Step Three:
Sew the corners.
Bring the corner sides together, with right sides facing
{the shiny side is the wrong side}
and pin.
Then sew.
And iron the seam open if you like. I didn’t but I pinned it special. 🙂 I’ll show you in a sec.
OPTIONAL Step Four:
Double fold over the edges of the pockets and press with an iron. Sew the top side of the pocket down {see below}
You can press your seams at this point too, which makes sense, but I still didn’t.
Oh well. 😉
Pin onto the right side of one of the liner pieces…
and sew.
Step Five:
Assemble liner and outer pieces.
With right sides facing in, pin liner pieces and outer pieces together.
Here’s my *special* pinning job. 🙂 I just double pinned at the seams.
Pin all the way around and then sew all the way around exept for the top.
Step Six:
Join the outer and liner pieces together.
Turn the outer fabric right side out and slide it into the liner fabric which is inside out. Got that? Confusing enough eh?
Pin the top corner pieces of the liner to the outer fabric. Leave the very top open.
And sew.
You should at this point snip the corners so it turns right side out better.
{But I didn’t! Ha…let’s see how many sewing rules I can break in one tutorial huh? In my second purse I did snip corners because the fabric was 100% cotton. But for this one it actually did okay with out it.}
Step Seven:
Turn the purse right side out.
Flatten out the the top corners you just sewed. Press them with an iron if you need to.
And top stich over those top corners again with about an 1/8 inch seam allowance.
Step Eight:
Attach the handles.
Press the top open part of the purse inward about 1/2 an inch.
Fold one side over a hoop and pin…
all the way to the other side.
Repeat with the other side.
Then sew.
Resist the urge to sew the handle fold while bunched. You want to sew a tube that you can bunch up later. So try to keep everything smooth and flat as you go along.
Doing the second hoop can be a trick. Just sew slow and wiggle those hoops around as needed to get it to work.
And that’s it!
So easy right?
I love that the bag is big enough for library books.
But can also hold standard purse items.
A great summer carry all.
And remember when I mentioned that I made a second purse?
Here is a quick tutorial on how I made the handles:
I used upolstery piping.
You can find it by the upostery fabric and vinyl fabrics.
I got mine at Joann’s for I think 99 cents a yard.
I used the 1 1/2 inch kind. Though…I kind of wish I got the 3/4 inch kind.
So it won’t unravel be sure to wrap scoth tape around it before you cut it.
Glue the piping into a circle.
Then rip some fabric strips {about 1/3 – 1/2 yard of fabric}
and wind them around the piping. I ended up wrapping them much tighter than you see here {think super duper hurts your fingers you’re pulling it so tight – tight} and I wrapped each hoop twice.
This makes for sewing the hoops on much easier since the handles are more flexible.
I think it looks pretty cool too.
My husband thinks they look like muppet arms.
He likes to call it my muppet purse. Ha ha…very funny. I still like the handles! 🙂
This one is my new library bag. And the bamboo handled one was a Mother’s Day gift to my Mom. {She didn’t want an apron}.
If you’re wondering if I’m wearing the same outfit as I did for my orange post…you would be correct. 🙂 It is has been really rainy here so when the sun shines I have to hurry and take all my pictures at once.
And here a couple more great tutorials from some of our very own Color My Summer guest posters:
Christe from A Lemon Squeezy Home shares this adorable lacy one:
And Erin from Crafts & Sutch shares this great no-sew one here:
I hope you have a lovely day!
And be sure to check out Kojodesigns for this great blue project:
Holy Moly Delia! That is incredible. I cannot believe you designed the pattern yourself. You amaze me.
I love this! Thanks for the idea to make your own handles too! Hope all is well with you and your family!
I LOVE THESE! I have to make one for the summer. Thanks for a wonderful tutorial!
I love this so much! I am going to have to make one for everyone in the family! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for linking:). I like how yours is more roomy at the bottom–definitely a great thing! Love the fabric you used, as well! and that's awesome you can make your own handles!
Tres chic! I will have to give this a try, now that my sewing machine is working again. I really love how you made those handles as well.
Cute Delia! Love it!
Cute bag! I like the handles you made. We are also a little bored of all the rain.
Thank you! Linked you to my blog!
http://www.sewingorsomething.blogspot.com
SERIOUSLY cute, Delia! Love the pattern on that bag. You always make things look so easy!!
So cute Delia! Love your ideas!
I'm unclear on how to glue the piping into a circle…what kind of glue to use? How does it hold its shape so well?
Very cute bags! I just might try some of my own!
I just featured this on my blog here:
http://chicaesartistica.blogspot.com/2011/06/ramblings-and-some-bookmarked-bags.html
Hey I was so excited about finishing my scripture cover, that I decided to feature your hoop handle bag on my blog to make soon too!
http://livelifelikeaknapp.blogspot.com/2011/07/scripture-cover.html
You re such a genius, thanks for sharing
I just made this for a gift, and it's great! One thing I found was that it was easier to sew on the second handle by changing over to a zipper foot. I found this out the hard way, so hopefully this tip will help others.
Thanks for a great bag tutorial!
Thank you for sharing! I will try to do it for my daughter, such a lovely idea
Thank you for a great pattern just joined a knitting group and was so embarrased to take my old knitting bag now I have a lovely new one
What is the approximate size of the fabric square you used for the bag? I want to make sure mine does not turn out too large or small for my 9” handles. It looks like your paper pattern is around 11 inches wide and 18 inches long? (Of course I know that is half the width of the full fabric piece) Thanks for your tutorial! I’ve had these handles for years and didn’t know what to do with them.
Good question. Your guess is spot on! It’s about 18.5 x 11.5 inches.