{"id":213,"date":"2004-03-15T19:40:16","date_gmt":"2004-03-15T19:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/wordpress\/?p=213"},"modified":"2004-03-15T19:40:16","modified_gmt":"2004-03-15T19:40:16","slug":"tote-bags-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/?p=213","title":{"rendered":"tote bags 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bags.JPG\"<\/a>
\nA couple of people have asked me if I use a pattern for the little bags I sew. Not usually, but the bags are generally adaptations of one basic design. I thought I’d share that design in case anyone is interested.
\nFirst, cut out the fabric! You can cut out either one piece where the fold would be the bottom of the bag or two pieces (you’d have to cut out two pieces if the pattern in the fabric goes in one direction; otherwise, the design would be upside down on one side of the bag). I use 1\/4″ seam allowances, so if you want the finished bag to be 5″ wide and 7″ tall, your one piece would need to be 5 1\/2″ wide and 14 1\/2″ long. The example is one piece, folded:
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nYou will want to cut a lining as well. It will be the same size as the exterior.
\nStitch the sides of the bag, right sides together and using a 1\/4″ seam. Also stitch the bottom if you cut two pieces instead of one. Next, you will sew in the corners of the bottom of the bag to create a flat bottom. Grab the bottom corner and fold the front and back of the bag down:
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nPin where you want to stitch. This will depend on how large of a bottom (heh heh, that sounds funny) you want. I measured in 1″ from the corner:
\n\"bag<\/a> \"bag<\/a>
\nRepeat with the other corner and with the lining.
\nStraps are next. I used a light webbing in the example, but you can use just about anything. Cut the handle about 1″ longer than you want. If you want to sew straps using the same fabric as your bag exterior, you can either sew a tube and turn it inside out or cut a wide strip, fold in 1\/4″ and press on either side, then fold the strip in half and stitch down one end.
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nNow you are going to attach the lining and the outer portion of the bag and the straps! You need to pin the right sides of the bag together, so this will most likely entail turning one of the bags inside out and inserting it inside the other. Make sure the side seams line up. Pin the sides and the centers of the front and back. Now take a handle and insert it between the lining and the exterior. Make sure each side of the handle is equidistant from its corresponding side seam (I think I went in 1 1\/4″ from the side for these handles). I like to have part of the handle sticking up about 1\/4 or 1\/2″ from the edge.
\n\"bag<\/a> \"bag<\/a>
\nOkay, so now you have everything pinned. Stitch 1\/4″ from the edge, leaving a couple inches open<\/b> (I usually leave the portion between a handle unsewn). You have to have this opening so you can turn the bag inside out, like so:
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nYou’re nearly finished! Push the lining into the bag, and if you are detail oriented you will carefully press the top edge (I am lazy, so I did not press; I do something called finger pressing. I love that term). Pin the top edge, making sure the lining does not creep up and become visible (this is a good reason to make a two-tone lining. I often sew a strip of the exterior fabric to a lining piece so that the top part of the lining will match the outside of the bag. Comprende?). Carefully pin the section that is still open. After you sew it you shouldn’t be able to tell where the opening is!
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nAll righty, now you are going to edge stitch the top:
\n\"bag<\/a>
\nAnd VOILA! Your bag is complete! You may, of course, embellish as you please.
\n\"bag<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of people have asked me if I use a pattern for the little bags I sew. Not usually, but the bags are generally adaptations of one basic design. I thought I’d share that design in case anyone is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sewing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.supereggplant.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}