Bag #35: Laminated make up bag

I love making PVC bags but the choice of fabric design is very limited.  When I heard that you could laminate any cotton fabric, I was really excited and ordered some laminate online.  I bought Vilene Lamifix and couldn’t wait to try it. It comes in glossy and matt – I used the glossy version. I read various reports about it, some good, some bad, and kept an open mind.  You can read the pros and cons at the end of this post. If you have used it, I would love to know how you got on.

I chose to make a small bag with the laminate for practical reasons – I didn’t want to waste a lot of fabric if it all went wrong (and it was quite expensive – I can get PVC much cheaper).  This bag is a cute size for carrying bottles of liquids on a plane or for use as a make-up bag. It can be wiped clean but the laminate does not appear to be washable, so not suitable for anything too mucky.  Or perhaps better with a wipe clean interior instead of the cotton lining I used.

The finished size is 4” high x 6” wide x 1½” deep (10 cm x 15 cm x 3.8 cm).

Difficulty level: intermediate because you need to make your own adjustments when sewing the corners.

I used my normal stitch length (2.5) throughout but increased it to 3.5 for top stitching either side of the zip (slightly longer than my usual top stitch).  I used ¼”/6mm seams for the outer bag and slighter wider seams for the lining.

I have included metric and imperial measurements but they are not exactly interchangeable, so you should stick to either one or the other.

Skills used in this project:

• Making and using laminated cotton

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following:

10” x 5½” (25cm x 14 cm) Bag Body (cut 2 outer, 2 lining, 2 lightweight iron-on interfacing, 2 laminate).  Not suitable for a directional fabric.  

10”/25 cm zip

Step 2: Laminating the fabric

Attach the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer fabric.

Greaseproof paper over the laminate protects the iron and the laminate

Attach the laminate to the right side of the outer fabric. If using glossy laminate, the non-glossy side is the adhesive side which needs to be placed against the right side of the fabric. Before you do this, place greaseproof paper under the fabric/laminate bundle and on top; this will prevent the laminate from melting onto your iron or ironing board. 

Start by ironing the centre and move out to the sides using a medium heat - this pushes any air bubbles out. 

Once you are happy that there are no air bubbles, press all over,  through a layer of greaseproof paper, to ensure a permanent fix. Instead of greaseproof paper you could use a cotton cloth such as a tea towel.  

I have read that you should allow 24 hours before stitching.  I didn’t do this, I just let it cool and didn’t have any problems (although was that why it creased so much???).

Step 3: Attach the zip

Be sure not to pin the laminate (except in the seam allowance) as the pin holes will remain visible. I find clips hold all the fabric in place fairly well.

If using a continuous zip, loosely sew the ends closed so that the slider does not slip off during sewing and assembly (I speak from experience! I couldn’t get the slider back on and ended up having to unpick the zip and start again).

Make a zip sandwich along one of the longer sides by placing the right side of one of the outer laminated fabric pieces against one edge of the zip, slider facing the outer fabric.  Place the lining the other side of the zip (along the same edge) and sew through all layers. The lining and outer fabric will be sewn separately when sewing up the bag, so leave just over ¼”/6mm unsewn at each end of the zip.

Do the same with the other laminated fabric piece and lining.

Top stitch along this edge for a neat and professional finish and to hold the layers in place.

Step 4: Creating the bag’s shape

Position the fabric so that the right sides of both laminate pieces are together and the right sides of both lining pieces are together.  Make sure that the zip is at least half open.

Sew along the bottom edge of the laminated pieces.

Sew along the bottom edge of the lining pieces leaving a gap of about 4”/10 cm for turning.

Working on the laminate side of the bag, flatten the fabric so that the zip is in the centre and the fabric is right sides together.  Sew across each end.

Now push the ends in to create the box shape as shown in the photo.  I wanted a very slim bag, so I used the edges of the zip as my guide, drew and then sewed along that line.

Do this for both ends of the laminated fabric.

Do the same for both ends of the lining side of the bag.

Turn through.  Sew up the opening in the lining.

Press on low heat.

Obviously, you need to put this bag through its paces and test it.  That will mean a night out at the very least or even a weekend away.  It's your reward for making this sweet little bag.

In this project I learnt:

It was very easy to laminate the cotton – just iron on.  I was disappointed that it didn’t feel like PVC. Instead it felt more like a polythene bag on the laminate side and I thought it looked cheap. For some reason, I had expected it to be thicker. I wasn’t sure whether I would still need interfacing - I don’t need it when making a PVC bag.  As it turned out, you do need to use interfacing with it as it doesn’t really stiffen the cotton enough.  It creased really badly during the sewing process so would probably be best suited for projects which don’t need to be turned through after sewing or need that 'lived in' look.  The laminate stuck firmly to the cotton all over and looked very glossy and, of course, I was able to use it on a fabric of my choice. 

It was easy to sew – I just used a normal sewing machine needle.  Most of the time for this bag I was sewing the wrong side of the laminate.  However when top stitching either side of the zip, the foot stuck a bit more than it usually does for PVC and the stitches became really small.  I changed the general purpose foot for a roller foot and increased the stitch length, then had no problems at all.  It was the first time I had used the roller foot but I shall certainly use it again.  It made the fabric feed through so smoothly, with minimal effort.

Would I use laminate again?  Well, I prefer the look of PVC, but if I wanted to make a special fabric wipe cleanable then I would use it.  It will be interesting to see how durable it is. And I shall certainly give the matt version a try.