Hi. My name is Chris and I have a fabric problem. Oh, and a bag problem.
<<Hi Chris! >>(says my FF (Fabric Friends) group)
Seriously, I have a problem with amazing fabrics and bags. So, when I see cute projects on Pinterest, I have to run out and buy some cute fabric to make It with. Like I don’t already have enough in my fabric stash, I go OUT and buy more.
I am inspired to make cute fabric zippered bags by a few Pinterest posts. Since I had never made one before, I went to a few sources to get some insight. Putting my love of fabric and bags to good use, I created these two very different bags. I also have an embroidery machine, so I took the time before I started sewing to embroider on it.
I ended up making two practice bags – one turned out very flat and one is much boxier.
Duck cloth is the outside of both bags. I got my duck cloth from Hobby Lobby because they have an amazing selection of it all the time! And they always have 40% off coupons in their weekly ad, or in their email subscriptions. The 40% off applies to one cut of fabric – no matter how big! It can be quite a bargain. I used two different liners for the bags – the first is a cotton calico that I purchased in a fat quarter. The second fabric is laminated cotton. Laminated cotton is cotton fabric with a thin, glossy laminated layer on top of it and it is awesome! I have never used it before and it is so easy to work with and can really make the inside of your bag a breeze to clean up!
So, this whole project probably counts as a Pinterest fail, but I wanted to share it anyway! We are not all perfect, and the bags I made are still useable! I will keep trying to improve my technique, but in the meantime, here is how I did it:
- I used 15 minute zipper bag and block zipper pouch tutorial blogs to teach myself the technique and to figure out shapes and sizes. Box corners were the goal, but neither bag turned out like I expected.
- Duck cloth is the outside fabric and either calico cotton or laminated cotton are the liners.
- Zippers are in both bags
- A tab isas added to both bags as well, to make it easy to pick up or carry
The Process:
Step 1 is to assemble the supplies: fabric, zipper and thread.
The Design
Figure out your pattern and measurements. I use this basic shape for both bags. I adjusted the sizes proportionately for the size bag I wanted to achieve. The cut the fabric, both the outside and the liner fabric should be the same size. I tried two different methods. On the chevron bag, I cut out the boxy corners ahead of time. On the green lined bag, I did not. The green bag will add box corners as the last step. Put the two layers of the bags, wrong sides together and sew on the short edges, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
The Zipper
The zipper is added first – following the zipper instructions on the zipper package – I used an invisible zipper, and the instructions that come with the zipper are great. Basically, you open up the zipper and pin it to the right side of the outside fabric. Use your zipper foot to sew close to the zipper teeth. 
As the first edge is done, you close the zipper and pin it to the other short edge, turning the fabric inside out (you should end up looking at the inside of your bag). A good tip here is to sew along the second side of the zipper about 3/4 of the dista
nce. Stop and unzip the zipper, and continue sewing to the end.
You should end up with your bag inside out, and the zipper complete. 
The Ends
At this point, you need to sew across the fabric and zipper ends. It is ok to sew right across the zipper. This will close the ends of your bag. To add a tab to make it easy to pick up and carry, it needs to be done before you sew the ends. Use a three inch loop of ribbon, folded in half, with the ends meeting at the end of your bag, near the zipper.You will be tucking the loop of the ribbon inside the bag before you sew.
The Corners
It is time to finish the corners. Open your zipper now, or you will not be able to get 
into your bag. Pull your still inside-out bag up to a full-standing position (see photo) and pin the corner edges to each other. They will form a vertical line from the bottom of the bag to the top. Sew along those lines. Trim the threads and clean up the seams using pinking shears.
The second bag made regular square corners that are flat. You create the corners by sewing diagonally across each corner at a 45 degree angle, and then trimming the excess corner material. Good detail is shown in the 15 minute bag blog.
Finished!
Turn the bag inside out and enjoy! The bags are adjustable to any size and can be any fabric combination! So much fun! Let me know if you try it! I would love to hear about your projects!
