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!

Bag #2: Bottle Bag

How to make a bottle bag

  

I chose to make a bottle bag this week because I needed to take all the glass bottles used over Christmas to be recycled and if I put them in a normal shopping bag, all that clinking makes me sound like an alcoholic.  I spotted this ripstop fabric at my local fabric store and thought it would be idea – strong, hard wearing and easy to clean. It is backed with vinyl so that helps it to hold the shape.  I would have preferred something even stronger but other than canvas which would have been too bulky, I couldn’t find anything suitable.

Skills used in this project

• Working with ripstop fabric
• Attaching handles
• Working out what order to do all the stages in

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following from your chosen fabric:

Main body (back, base and front all in one piece) 28¼ “ x 10¼” (cut 1)

Sides 7¼” x 11¼” (cut 2)

Central insert 11” x 11¼” (cut 1)

Side inserts 3 ¾” x 10½” (cut 4)

Cut 2½ yards (2.3 m) of webbing for handles. 

As the back and front are all in one piece, the pattern will be upside down on one side of the bag so it is best to choose a fabric that isn’t directional.

Step 2: Hemming

All the pieces needed to be hemmed before assembling. I used a ⅜” hem and seam allowance throughout.

Hem all round the main body and sides.

Hem one of the slightly longer sides of the central insert.

Hem one short side of each of the side inserts.

Step 3: Attaching the handles

Find the approximate middle of the main body by folding it in half, short side to short side and measure 1” in from the long edge.  This is where you will start to attach the webbing which is sewn to the right side of the fabric.  Fold over the end to hide the raw edge and pin the webbing to the fabric, keeping a constant distance of 1” from the edge. Keeping close to the edge of the webbing, sew across the end and then along one side, stopping about 1” from the end. To reinforce this part of the strap, sew a x shape across the webbing before sewing back down the other side of the same piece of webbing.

Measure 16½" for the handle and make sure that the webbing is not twisted, then attach to the same end of the fabric, starting about 1” in from the top and the side and sewing a reinforcing x shape before sewing the webbing along one side the whole length of the fabric.  When you reach the other end, stop about 1” from the end and sew a reinforcing x shape before turning and sewing back along the other side of the webbing.  Then measure the other handle and sew the remaining piece of webbing to the fabric so that you are back where you started, turning over the raw edge as you finish.

  

Step 4: Sewing the inserts together

Measure 3¾" along the hem from the edge of the central insert.  This is where you will attach two of the side inserts, one on either side on the central insert, making sure that the hems match and sewing down from the hem towards the bottom.  The side inserts are slightly shorter than the central insert because they will not be attached at the base. The pattern can face in either direction – it is a matter of personal choice.  I chose to have the pattern facing out and the raw edges of the seam towards the centre.

Central insert sewn
to main body of bag
left to right

Measure the same distance from the other end of the central insert and attach the remaining two side inserts as above.

Step 5: Attaching the central insert to the main body

The base of the central insert needs to be sewn to the wrong side of the main body from one long side to the other (this is where you started attaching the webbing for the handles on the right side). You can find the middle by folding the fabric short side to short side and marking the fold line on the wrong side of the fabric.

Step 6: Attaching the side inserts to the main body

Before attaching the side inserts, the outside bottom corner should be trimmed to form a slight curve starting about 1” from the bottom.  This curve will not be attached to the bag.

Measure 3" from the edge of one short side, match up the hems and sew from the hems downwards.  The inserts are sewn to the wrong side of the fabric. The raw edge can face in either direction – it is a matter of personal choice.

Repeat this step for all 4 side inserts.

Step 7: Attaching the central insert to the sides

The bottom corner of each end of the central insert should be trimmed to form a slight curve starting about 1” from the bottom.  This part will not be attached to the bag.

Fold one of the side panels in half long side to long side.  The fold line is where you will attach the end of the central insert to the wrong side, matching the hems and sewing downwards. The raw edge of the central insert can face in either direction. Attach the other end of the central insert to the wrong side of the other side panel.

Step 8: Attaching the sides to the main body

Sew the side panels to the main body by putting the wrong sides together, matching the edges.  Sew close to the edge, making sure that the hem at the top matches.  I found it easier to sew down one side, then the other, then the bottom edge. It took longer but I made sure that the top edges were perfectly aligned this way.

In this project I learnt:

• To take the time to be accurate.  A couple of times I made mistakes and had to unpick them.  It doesn't show on the outside but the vinyl on the inside has puncture holes which will be there forever.
• Ripstop is a great fabric to work with. When you look up close, there are criss-crossing lines all over the fabric.  This makes it easy to cut and sew in a straight line.  Another bonus is that it doesn't seem to fray much.
• The bag handles were really easy to attach and make the bag very sturdy.  I shall use this technique again when I make other bags e.g. beach bag. However, I kept forgetting they were there and sewing over them when I sewed the seams!!