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 #3: Baguette Bag

I chose to make this bag because I never know how to get a long baguette home from the supermarket hygienically and in one piece while carrying all my other shopping bags.  The answer is obviously a baguette bag.  This one fits one baguette, but it would be easy to make it wider for two or more.

Going with the French theme, I wanted a suitable fabric and found this gorgeous 100% cotton quilting fabric on ebay with its Eiffel Towers and other French symbols.  It was available in a range of colours and I chose this blue. I like a fabric which can go either way up because there’s less waste. I bought a metre which was 112cm wide because I wanted the pattern to run from top to bottom, but if you cut it out across the width rather than the length you would only need about half a metre. Because this was a quality cotton with a close weave, I didn't feel that it needed a lining, which also saved me time in the long run.

You will also need approx 40” of ribbon ¾”  wide. 

I used ½" seams throughout this project. 

Skills used in this project:

Inserting a drawstring channel

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following pieces:

37” x 11” rectangle of fabric for the bag

4” x 22” fabric for the handle

2” x 22” lightweight interfacing for the handle (I used iron-on but sew-in would work just as well)

Step 2: Making the handle

 

Fold the handle fabric in half lengthways and iron to find the centre line.  Finger press the interfacing in half lengthways to find the centre line (if you are using sew-in interfacing your could iron this but don't iron the iron-on interfacing yet because it will stick to itself or the iron!).

Place the interfacing along the centre of the wrong side of the fabric, matching the fold lines.  The shiny side of the sew-in interfacing should be placed against the wrong side of the fabric because that is the sticky side which will adhere to the fabric when ironed.

The interfacing is narrower than the fabric.  Fold the edges of the fabric over the interfacing lengthways so that the edge of the fabric on each side meets the fold line. Press.

Fold the handle in half lengthways along the existing fold line and press.

Topstitch along each long edge of the handle close to the end.  There is no need to sew along the fold edge if you don't want to but I think it gives a more symmetrical and professional finish if you do.  

Step 3: Marking the drawstring channel

Before you sew the bag, mark where the drawstring channel will go, as this part of the seam won't be sewn. 

Choose which end will form the top of the bag.  Measure 7 ½" from the top of the fabric and mark the wrong side of the edge of the fabric.  This will be the top of the channel. Make a second mark 1" further down the edge (8½" from the top of the bag).  This will be the bottom of the channel.  When sewing the side seam together, do not sew this part of the seam.

Step 4: Attaching the handle to the bag and sewing the side seam

Lay out the large rectangle of fabric and decide where you want the handle.  I put one end at the bottom just before the curve and the other end a couple of inches below the drawstring channel markings.  Pin the short ends of the handle to the right side of the fabric so that they match up with the edge of the fabric.  Make sure the handle is not twisted.

You can just see the end of the handle
where it has been sewn into the seam

 

Fold the large rectangle in half lengthways right sides together to make the side seam. The handle will now be inside the rectangle with only the ends visible.

The bag looks better with a curved base.  Use a small plate or other round object to draw a symmetrical curve onto the wrong side of the fabric once it has been folded in half and cut away any excess fabric.

Sew along the whole length of the side of the bag, including the curved bottom, leaving a gap where you previously marked the drawstring channel opening. Press. 

Step 5: Sewing the drawstring channel

Keeping the bag with the right sides together, turn over the top  ½" of the fabric outwards towards the wrong side.  This will form your hem.  Press.

Pull the top of the bag down, wrong sides together, until the hem is just below the bottom drawstring channel mark.  Pin it in place so that it is even all the way round.  When you sew the bottom of the channel, you will also be sewing the hem in place.

Sew all the way round the bag at the bottom and top channel marks.  Press. Turn the bag out the right way. Press.

Step 6: Finishing

Thread the ribbon through the drawstring channel.  I attached a pin to one end of the ribbon which made it easier to thread it.

Once the ribbon has been threaded through, trim the ends to remove any pin marks and fraying. 

I always seal synthetic ribbon to prevent fraying by putting the ends next to a naked flame e.g. a tea light.  This causes them to melt slightly and seals the ends.  If you haven't tried this before, practise on a spare piece of ribbon.  Don't get it too close the flame or it will catch fire.  I always do this next to the kitchen sink as a precaution. Remember to keep the bag well away from the flame or all your hard work will be wasted. Don't do this on natural fibres e.g. cotton - it will just burn.

Voila! Your bag is complete.  

In this project I learnt:

Taking the time to accurately plan exactly where the drawstring channel will go and measuring it before starting is worth it because then everything matches up as it should.

I used a Frixion pen (disappears when ironed) to mark the fabric but forgot that I would want to press the seam before sewing the drawstring channel and my marks disappeared! As the marks were in the seam allowance, I could have used any pale permanent marker.  Next time, I need to think about the order in which I will make up the bag and use the best marker pen for the job.  I made lots of marks on the fabric (hem line, top line, inside drawstring channel, outside drawstring channel) but they weren't all needed.

Choosing the right fabric for the job is crucial.  I think this French themed fabric really sets off the project. I usually use fabric from my stash or see what my local craft store has in stock.  I had been thinking about this bag for a couple of weeks which gave me time to source the fabric online.  If I can be that organised with other projects, I'm sure they'll end up looking better.

Sometimes, keeping it simple is the best option. However, I think this project would be lovely in a plain cream e.g. a rustic calico with appliqué images sewn on.

I planned to make the drawstring of the same fabric as the bag.  At the cutting stage I suddenly remembered this pink ribbon left over from another project.  This saved a lot of time and makes the bag look really pretty and colourful.  Of course, if I hadn't liked the end result, I could still have made a fabric drawstring tie as it is not sewn in and can be changed at any time. Cord would also work well.