Bag #41: Christmas Sack

As all crafters know, Christmas makes begin in July when the shops start to fill with festive supplies.  So, by now, most sewists will have completed many of their projects and gifts.  After all, who has the time in December?

I had most of the hessian left over from last week’s bag and wanted to make a Christmas gift sack.  This is a small one just big enough for a pet or adult; it would leave a child very disappointed.

You could keep it completely plain or add an appropriate appliqué design for the recipient including personalising it with their name. Mine is for my cat, so I added a cat face and the words 'Santa Paws'.  I used acrylic felt which I bonded to the hessian and then sewed, but if you were short of time and didn’t want to sew, you could buy self-adhesive felt which would save on the sewing time.  I haven’t tried it myself so I don’t know if it would stick to hessian.  I wouldn’t sew through it because I don’t think the adhesive is safe for sewing machines, but if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know.

I used French seams to avoid raw edges inside.  This was really good quality, sturdy hessian, but the edges began to unravel while I worked on the free motion embroidery, so I would recommend sewing a straight line of stitches all round, close to the edge, just to hold it together while working on it.  They will then be hidden in the seam allowance.

Thanks to Tilly Rose for the helpful tips she kindly gave me on free motion embroidery when I spoke to her at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally, London last weekend. It may not look it, but it’s a vast improvement on my previous attempts!

Usually I would make a channel for the drawstring to go through but I thought the hessian would look more interesting if I made eyelets from it.  If you don’t like this look, you could make the top hem longer so that it includes a channel on the inside or add a colourful sew-on channel on the outside.

You will need 20”/half a metre of hessian and that will leave you with enough to spare to make last week’s bottle gift bag out of the leftovers.

The finished size is 16”/40.5 cm high x 10”/25 cm wide x 4”/10 cm deep when loosely filled with goodies.

Skill level: Easy if you buy self adhesive felt.

I used a stitch length of 3 throughout as the hessian was slightly bulkier than my usual cotton and ½”/12mm seams for the same reason.  . Hessian doesn’t have a right or wrong side, so where I refer to the right side, it’s just whatever side you have chosen as the outside of the bag.

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:

• Machine appliqué

• Free motion embroidery

• Sewing eyelets

• French seams

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following:

14” x 21”/35.5 cm x 53 cm Sack front and back (cut 2 hessian)

39½”/ 1 m Drawstring  (mine was ½”/12 mm wide)

Felt for appliqué 

Heat n bond (or other similar product e.g. bondaweb) unless using self-adhesive felt

Embellishments (I also used a ribbon for the bow)

Step 2: Applying the image

If using self-adhesive felt, draw your image, cut it out and stick it onto the hessian.

If using plain felt, follow these instructions:

Decide on the image you want on your sack. I drew a basic outline, but you could print an image from your computer (subject to any copyright restrictions). As you will be attaching it to the back of your appliqué pieces, the image would normally need to be reversed.  However, as felt doesn’t have a right or wrong side, it isn’t necessary here. (I didn't work this out until afterwards and painstakingly reversed my images!!)

Trace the image onto the paper side of heat n bond and cut out roughly (no need to cut out exactly at this stage).

Iron onto felt (with other fabrics, iron onto wrong side).

Cut out accurately following the traced line.

Peel off backing and arrange the image so that you are happy with it.  Iron the sticky side of the felt (it has a slight sheen) onto the hessian.

Sew round using free motion embroidery. I used a contrasting thread as a feature but I wasn’t very good at it and all my mistakes show! Using a co-ordinating thread is more subtle and mistakes don’t show as much but it means you have to keep changing the thread if you have a multi-coloured design.

Add any embellishments. Delicate embellishments are best added once the bag has been finished. I added a ribbon which I sewed on after the bag was finished as I didn’t want it damaged during the assembly process.

Step 3: Making the eyelets

Make 4 eyelets on each side of the bag, starting 5”/12.5 cm from the top.

Measure the tape and make them twice the width of the drawstring.  My drawstring was ½”/12mm wide, so I made them 1”/2.5 cm square.  This can be done using free motion embroidery or normal stitching.  I used free motion embroidery on the front and normal stitching on the back.  They don’t look much different but the free motion embroidery was much quicker and easier.  I used a dark thread to make a feature of the stitches.

 

Cut out the inside of the eyelets just inside the stitching line.

Step 4: Assembling the bag

As you can see, I forgot to cut out the eyelets,
but remembered before the bag was fully assembled.

To make the French seams, with wrong sides together, sew a ½”/12 mm seam around the sides and bottom, leaving a gap next to the eyelets on each side (same size gap as the eyelets). Press.

Turn inside out so that the right sides are now together.  Sew a slightly wider seam around the sides and bottom to completely encase the raw edges, again leaving a gap next to the eyelets.  I trimmed the raw edges slightly to make sure that they would fall within the seam allowance.  Press.

Now for the top hem.  This is quite a deep hem so that it won’t be visible when the bag is in use. Turn the end under by ½/12mm (so that the raw edge is hidden) and then fold over again so that you have a 2”/5 cm hem.  Sew all round close to the bottom of the hem. Press.

Turn right side out.  Press.

Thread drawstring through eyelets and tie a knot at each end.

Fill with presents for that extra special person/pet.  It will look great under the Christmas tree when December arrives.

In this project I learnt:

• This bag would be really dull without the appliqué. I wasn’t sure whether the felt could cope with a hot iron, so I started off using a medium iron but the heat n bond didn’t stick.  I put a piece of plain cotton fabric over the felt when ironing on hot and it was fine.  I read afterwards that you should iron from the wrong side of the main fabric when using thicker appliqué.  It pays to read the instructions!  I drew my own images and printed the letters using Word Art.  My drawing wasn’t very good so I probably should have printed an image too!

• I’m not very good at free motion embroidery, but there’s only one way to get better and that’s practise. I took on board the advice Tilly gave me and I could definitely see an improvement by the end, so my next attempt should be better.  The problem is that I leave long gaps between my attempts and forget everything I’ve learnt.  I’m going to try to do a little every day in future to improve my confidence and skill.

• I really like this style of eyelet.  It goes well with the rustic feel and look of the hessian.  I wasn’t sure if they would be strong enough, so I tried it out first on a scrap of fabric and was really impressed with how sturdy it was.  I used free motion embroidery for the eyelets on the front of the bag and a normal stitch on the back.  The free motion embroidery actually looked slightly neater and was much quicker.

• I tried out French seams at the start of this year and have used them several times since.  It is such an easy way of creating a neat, professional looking seam in an unlined bag. They also give the bag extra strength for heavier gifts.  I wasn’t sure whether they would be too bulky when using hessian, but no, they were fine when pressed.

Bag #40: Bottle Gift Bag

I picked up my first Christmas catalogue in a shop this week and it made me think that I ought to start getting ready for Christmas.  It seems a long way away but I turn my back and it creeps up on me every year.  At least one person will be getting a bottle of wine from me.  I know they’ll like the wine, but I always worry that it looks as though I haven’t made much effort.  This way, they’ll see I was thinking about them and I’ll probably personalise the bag so there’s no doubt.  This would also be a great idea for birthdays, housewarming, father’s day, etc.

The bag is big enough for most types of bottles.  There was plenty of room width ways with a normal sized wine bottle, so it could easily take a large bottle e.g. bubbly, spirits or a taller bottle, but as always, it’s best to check the measurements of your intended bottle and make any necessary adjustments.

You could decorate it in any way you like, by painting, embroidering, appliqué, etc.  That way, no two people will get the same gift bag. Personalising it adds that special touch.  I haven’t got round to it yet, but I’ll probably sew on a name tag to look like a gift tag.   

There are various types of hessian out there, but to hold the weight of a bottle, it needs to be a stiff, more tightly woven hessian and not the really floppy type.

The finished size is 14”/35.5 cm high, 5”/12.5 cm wide, 4½“/11.5 cm deep, although the measurements inside are smaller as each side is reduced by 1”/2.5 cm due to the side seams.

Skill level: Intermediate as the mitred corners can be tricky the first time you do them.  A quilter would find this EASY.

I used a slightly larger stitch length than normal (3) as I was mostly sewing through several layers and increased it to 4 when sewing through all the layers of the handles.  I used larger seams than usual - ½”/12mm – as they formed a decorative element to the bag as well as forming the construction.

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:

• Using overlapping edge seams

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following from sturdy hessian:

5” x 15½”/12.5 cm x 39.5 cm Bag Front and Back (cut 2)

6” x 35”/15 cm x 89 cm Bag Sides (cut 1)

4” x 12”/10 cm x 30.5 cm Bag Handles (cut 2)

Decoration (I used 3 panels cut from fabric)

Step 2: Decorating the bag

Before making the bag, the front panel needs to be decorated.  This could be done by painting, appliqué, embroidery, cross stitch, etc.  You could also decorate the back if you wanted.

I chose to only decorate the front and cut 3 squares from a fabric, folded the raw edges under and sewed all round.

Step 3: Making the handles

Fold the handles in half lengthways to find the centre.  Fold each side in so that the edge is against the fold line.  It will now look like bias binding.  

Fold in half along the original fold line and top stitch close to the edge along each long side of the handle.  This will hold it together and make it look professional.

Step 4: Attaching the handles

Attach one handle to the front of the bag and one to the back.

Prepare the front and back by pressing the top hem.  I allowed ½”/12 mm to turn over the raw edge and then turned over a further 1”/2.5 cm to hide the raw edge and pressed. Do not sew the hem until the handle is in place.

Making sure that the handle is not twisted, push the raw edges at each end of the handle firmly into the fold of the hem you have just pressed about 1½”/4 cm from each side. Now fold the handle up over the hem as shown in the photo.  Sew 2 lines of stitching to hold the hem and handle firmly in place – one will go along the top edge and the other will be along the bottom edge of the hem where the handle is folded up.  This method hides the raw edges of the handle and sews through 2 layers, making it doubly strong.

Do this for both handles, attaching one to the top of the front and the other to the top of the back.

Step 5: Assembling the bag

Prepare the sides by pressing and sewing the hem at each short end, just as you did for the front and back.

Turn under each long side by ½”/12 mm and by the same again and press.

The side panel is sewn first to the front and then to the back, or vice versa.

Match the top seam of the side to the front so that you get an even top line. 

With the raw edge of the side panel folded under by ½”/12 mm, place the edge of the side panel over the edge of the front panel so that they overlap by ½”/12 mm.  Both fabrics should have the right side facing up.  Fold the side panel over the edge of the front panel so that you have ½”/12 mm of the side panel completely encasing one long edge of the front panel (as shown in the photo.  Sew through all these layers almost down to the bottom of the bag. 

The corner needs to be mitred.  If you have sewn a binding around a square/rectangular quilt, the same technique is used.  Stop sewing about ½”/12 mm from the bottom and change the direction of the stitching (without moving the fabric) so that you sew diagonally towards the bottom corner. 

Fold the next part of the side panel so that it encases the bottom of the front panel and make a neat fold at the corner.  Start sewing where the new seam begins (about ½”/12 mm in) and stop short of the next bottom corner and repeat the process.  Sew up to the top where the top edges should meet exactly.

Do the same for the back.  

That’s one Christmas present sorted.  All you need to do is buy a bottle of something tasty to go in the bag.  Now you have one less present to worry about during your hectic December. 

In this project I learnt:

• Most hessian bags appear to be made this way, so I was looking forward to trying it. This method looks and sounds complicated, but it actually very straightforward if you have done any quilting, as I have.  When I made my first quilt, I watched several You Tube videos on how to sew mitred corners and that helped enormously. The trick is not to sew to the end of the seam in the corners and then you can make a neat fold in the fabric. I was worried that some of the hems/seams would be really bulky, but they squashed quite flat and my machine had no problem sewing them. Now that I know this technique works, I’m looking forward to trying it on a larger bag in future.

• It’s a shame that I sewed the middle picture square on a bit wonky.  I thought it was perfect straight when I sewed it on!  I even pinned it first.  Next time I’ll tack!