Bag #53: Sat Nav Pouch

Well it’s been a while since I last made a bag.  I hadn’t intended to leave it this long but I’ve been having a break from bag making.  Now I’m itching to get back to it.

This is a small bag for my sat nav.  My car doesn’t have a built-in device so I take my trusty TomTom with me wherever I go.  It has always been stored in its hard case, but it was a really tight fit and I struggled to get the zip done up.  Eventually the zip broke and so it was time for a new bag. 

I made this slightly bigger so that it would be a more comfortable fit and used bag foam to protect it.  It has a simple Velcro closure so it was super easy to make.  The Festival of Quilts is on in a couple of weeks’ time and quilting was on my mind, so I decided to quilt it to make it a bit more interesting.  I’m not good at adding piping so I included it because I like a challenge.

The dimensions can be altered to fit any ‘fat’ device such as a camera, charger, etc. (a bag for a flattish device like a laptop, phone or tablet wouldn’t need the gusset/side). As all devices vary, you should tailor it to your own device.  I probably should have made this a bit shorter as it ended up being a little tall for my sat nav.

I thought about adding a strap or handle but decided against it as the strap on my old hard case always got in the way.  You could easily attach a handle to the flap or to the top of the side panel if you wanted to.

You will need 2 fat quarters – 1 for the outer fabric and one for the lining as well as the same amount of wadding or bag foam. The fabric needs to be non-directional otherwise the print will be upside down when you fold the flap over.

I used bag foam for the front and back, but wadding for the sides as this made the bag a bit more flexible. Truth be told, I ran out of bag foam!  If you want a very firm bag, use bag foam and if you want a soft bag, use wadding/fleece.  If you prefer something in the middle, as I did, use a combination of the 2.   

The finished size is approximately 5½”/14 cm wide, 5½"/14 cm high and 2”/5 cm deep.

Skill level: Intermediate – it is quite tricky to manoeuvre around such a small bag when adding piping, and sewing curves.

I used a longer stitch length as I was using foam which is fairly thick.  I used 3.5 for the quilting and most of the seams and 4.5 for top stitching.  I used ¼”/6 mm 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:

•         Quilting

•         Piping

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following (but note the changes I suggest at the end):

6”/15 cm x 9½”/24 cm Bag back and flap (cut 1 outer fabric, one lining and one wadding/bag foam). Cut a gentle curve into two corners of one of the 6”/15 cm sides – see images below. The curved end will be the bottom of the bag.

6”/15 cm x 5½”/14 cm Bag front (cut 1 outer fabric, one lining and one wadding/bag foam). Cut a gentle curve into two corners of one of the 6”/15 cm sides – see images below.

2½”/ 6.5 cm x 17”/ 43 cm Bag side

46”/ 117 cm narrow piping cord

47”/120 cm Bias binding

5”/12.5 cm strip of Velcro

Step 2: Quilting the outer bag

Temporarily attach the outer fabric pieces to the corresponding foam/wadding using pins/fabric glue.

  

Decide on your quilting pattern.  I usually choose freeform free motion embroidery squiggles, but for this bag I chose diagonal lines.  I drew the first line onto the fabric with my Clover air dry pen and sewed over it, using the spacing bar on my machine to keep all the lines the same width apart. This pen is great because it gradually fades but if you want to remove immediately e.g. because you’ve made a mistake, it also has an eraser.  I didn't realise until half way through that I could have just followed the pattern on the fabric!!

Quilt all parts of the outer bag.

Step 3: Making the piping

I cut the piping into two lengths – 16”/41 cm for the front and the rest for the back/flap.  I cut the bias binding the same length for the front but there was an extra inch to overlap it for the back. The binding can be bought or cut on the bias from a piece of fabric.  It needs to be bias-cut as it needs some flexibility/stretch when going round the curves; straight cut binding just goes lumpy and looks ugly around curves.

Fold the binding around the piping and sew close to the piping using a zip foot.

Step 4: Attaching the piping to the bag

Trim the binding so that the flat part of the binding measures the same as your seam allowance.  I used ¼”/6 mm seams and trimmed the binding so that it measured ¼”/6 mm from the line I stitched in step 3 to the edge.

Pin the piping to the right side of the bag front starting at one top side and going round the bottom and up to the other top side.  There is no piping along the front top.  Match the edge of the binding with the edge of the fabric.  Sew it in place using a zip foot.

Do the same for the back/flap but this time the piping will go all round so you will need to make a neat join somewhere.  I chose to have my join at the bottom.  Leave the first half inch/12mm unsewn.  Sew all round and stop about an inch/2.5 cm before you get back to where you started.  Trim the cord so that the start and end meet seamlessly.  Fold one end of the binding over to hide the raw edge, overlap it over the bias binding where you started and wrap it round.  This will make a neat join.  Sew the end/beginning of the binding in place.

Step 5: Assembling the outer bag

Pin then sew the side to the front, right sides together, close to the piping, using a zip foot.  I made the side a bit longer than needed and trimmed it afterwards so that it matched the top of the front.

Now pin the side to the back, right sides together close to the piping. To find the centre, fold the side in half and mark the centre point at the bottom of the bag.  Do the same for the back.  Match up these points and pin, then sew the side to the front.

Make a few snips in the seam allowance at the corners so that the seams lay nice and flat or trim with pinking shears close to the seam.

Cut the edge of the bag foam back as close to the seam as you can.  I forgot to do this but it makes a much neater finish if you do it, especially around the flap.  

Step 6: Assembling the lining

Using your general purpose foot, sew the side lining to the front lining, right sides together and trim it to size.  Then sew the side to the back lining, as above, leaving a gap at the bottom for turning through.  Snip the corners as above.

Step 7: Attaching the lining

With right sides together, place the lining over the outer bag and sew around the opening and flap.  Turn through. Sew up the gap in the lining.

Top stitch around the top of the sides and front to create a neat finish and keep the lining/outer fabrics firmly in place.  You will be sewing through several layers here, so a longer stitch length will be needed.  I used 4.5.

Step 8: Attaching the velcro

Usually I would attach the closure before joining the lining, but I decided with this bag that it would be better to add it afterwards and make a feature of it.

Place your device in the bag and pull the flap over to work out where the Velcro needs to go.  Trim it to size. Pin it and sew in place through all the layers.  This would be the time to add any embellishments to the front if you wanted to.

I made a feature of it by using red thread on white Velcro which would have looked good if I had sewn in a straight line!

***

Now put your device in its new home and give yourself a treat for all that hard work!  I shall take my sat nav for a little outing to the coast when it finally stops raining.

In this project I learnt:

• I hadn’t used the quilting space bar for a long time and I had forgotten how easy it makes straight line quilting. It was done in no time and all the stitches were the same length, unlike free motion embroidery where I struggle to keep them even.

• I still hate piping.  I’ve never been any good at it and that hasn’t changed.  However, I was pleased with the look of the bag.  It wouldn’t have looked as good without the piping.

• I made the pouch bigger than my previous sat nav bag which broke because it was too small.  However, I over-compensated and could have made it about an inch/2.5 cm shorter in height and it would still have been a comfortable fit.  I might end up using it for a different device, but it serves it purpose for now and will stand out in my glove compartment. 

Bag #46: Sequin Clutch

  

I saw this sequin fabric in the remnant bin at my local fabric store and snapped it up, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it.  A simple zip pouch would look great and I still might do that, but I wanted more of a challenge, so I opted for this faux suede and sequin clutch with a cotton lining.  It has an internal zip pocket, but no strap.  If you wanted a strap, you could easily add tabs with D rings to either side of the flap just above where it joins the main body of the bag.  A gold chain would look great.

The sequins were attached to a net fabric which was quite see-through and flimsy, so I used a piece of plain cotton fabric behind the sequins.

I did some research on the internet about using sequin fabric and read lots of cautionary tales.  I followed the general advice and used a leather needle and wore protective glasses in case the sequins caused the needle to break (it didn’t) and cut the fabric with an old pair of scissors to avoid damaging my good ones.  The sequins made a terrible mess – I think I will be finding bits of sequin in the carpet for months to come.  

The most you need is an 11”/28 cm strip or fat quarter (if you use non-directional fabric) of any of the fabrics - faux suede, lining, foam and 6”/15 cm of the sequin fabric.

I used a firm iron-on interfacing to stabilise the lining/internal pocket, bag foam for the main body of the bag and the flap and a thin wadding for the sides to prevent too much bulk.

The finished size is approximately 10½”/26.5 cm wide, 7”/18 cm high and 1½/ 4 cm deep

Skill level: Intermediate – due to the thickness of the foam, this takes a lot of manipulation to sew through all the layers.  Sequin fabric can be tricky, so some experience with a range of fabrics would be useful.

I used my normal needle and stitch length (2.5) when sewing the lining, but I used a leather needle and increased the stitch length when sewing the outer bag to 4 when sewing the seams and 5 when top stitching.  I tried to use ¼”/6 mm seams for the outer bag although sometimes they were a little wider due to the thickness of the foam. However, I recommend wider seams to ensure that all the fabrics are sewn through – I’m just so used to using narrow seams that I do it without thinking.  I made sure that I used 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:

• Working with sequin fabric

Step 1: Cutting out

Cut out the following:

11” x 14”/ 28 cm x 35.5 cm Bag body (cut 1 faux suede, 1 foam, 1 lining, 1 interfacing)

6” x 2”/ 15 cm x 5 cm Bag sides (cut 2 faux suede, 2 wadding, 2 lining, 2 interfacing) – shape them so that one of the short sides is curved – I drew round an old cotton reel

11” x 6”/28 cm x 15 cm Flap (cut 1 sequin fabric, 1 foam, 1 lining, 1 interfacing)

9” x 6”/23 cm x 15 cm Internal pocket (cut 2 lining, 2 interfacing)

9” zip/ 23 cm (I used an N3 zip from a continuous roll, but a 8”/20 cm zip would be sufficient)

2 magnetic clasps 

Step 2: Making the internal zip pocket

Attach interfacing to wrong side of all lining and pocket pieces.

Pin one pocket piece to one of the bag linings, right sides together, with the long side of the pocket placed centrally along the top edge of the lining.  

Draw a ½” x 7”/12 mm x 18 cm rectangle along the centre of the interfacing which is attached to one of the pocket pieces.  Sew around this rectangle through all the layers that you have just pinned together.  

Cut a slit in this rectangle (as shown in the photo) making sure not to cut the stitches. 

Push the pocket through this ‘letterbox’ shape in the lining so that it sits flat and press. You will now have a neat opening to attach the zip.

Pin the zip to the pocket so that the right side shows through the aperture in the bag lining.  Sew all round.

Pin the remaining pocket piece to this one, right sides together and sew around the sides and bottom, keeping the bag lining out of the way as you do not want to sew through this. 

Sew along the top of the pocket and the bag lining to hold the pocket firmly in place.

Step 3: Making the lining

With right sides together, sew the lining body to one of the lining sides starting at the front (furthest away from the pocket).  You may have up to ½”/12 mm of the lining body left over once you have sewn it to the side. Don’t worry about this because measurements vary depending on the size of the curves you created in the side. You will trim away any excess once you have made the lining.

Do the same for the other lining side, again starting at the front.

Trim away any excess back fabric, as mentioned above.

Step 4: Making the outer bag

Attach the foam to the faux suede body and the wadding to the faux suede sides. I used a spray on fabric adhesive but they could just be pinned.

With right sides together, join the sides to the body as you did for the lining, starting at what will be the bag front and trimming away any excess fabric on the back.

Trim the foam back as close to the stitch line as you can.

Step 5: Making the flap

Attach the foam to the wrong side of the black cotton flap fabric and place the sequin fabric onto the black with the sequin side facing out.

Attach the interfacing to the wrong side of the flap lining.

With right sides together, join the lining to the sequin flap by sewing around the 2 short sides and one of the long sides. 

Trim the foam back as close to the stitch line as you can.

Turn right sides out.

Step 6: Attaching the magnetic fasteners

The thinner side of the magnetic fastener needs to be attached to the lining of the flap. I placed them about 1”/2.5 cm from the seams on each corner.  I used a small off cut of bag foam on the wrong side of the lining to give it extra stability.   Make 2 holes in the lining and foam, push the ‘legs’ through from the right side of the lining, through the foam and the washer and open them outwards to secure.

Pin the flap to the back of the bag along the top with right sides together (see step 7 below).

  Fold the flap towards the front to work out where the magnetic clasps will go so that they meet.  Attach the thicker side of the fastener to the right side of the bag front.  There is no need to add extra foam because the faux suede already has foam attached to it.

Step 7: Attaching the flap

Sew the flap to the back of the bag with right sides together, through all layers of the flap.

Step 8: Assembling the bag

The lining needs to have the wrong side facing out and the faux suede bag needs to have its right side facing out. 

Place the faux suede bag inside the lining bag, matching the tops of the bags. 

The flap needs to be folded down between the outer bag and lining so that the join with the outer bag is visible.

Sew all round leaving a gap of about 5”/12.5 cm for turning.

Turn right side out and top stitch all round the top seam where you joined the bag and lining, closing the gap when you reach it.

(I would usually top stitch around the flap but I tried it and it looked horrible, so I unpicked the stitches.)

Step 9: Adding sequins

The sequins break around the seam line and you may end up with bald patches.  Apparently this is normal when sewing with sequin fabric.  One corner of my front flap was a bit bald and I might add some extra sequins there.  If it bothers you, take a few sequins from any leftover fabric and sew them on to fill in any gaps.

 

Congratulations!  You now have a fancy evening bag, but where are you going to go to show it off?

In this project I learnt:

• The sequin fabric was easy to work with.  I used a leather needle which could withstand hitting the sequins, but they were so small that the needle just pushed them out of the way.  Perhaps if they were larger, I would have had problems.  Most people use this fabric for clothing and have to remove the sequins from the seams, but this wasn’t necessary for bag making.  The biggest problem was the mess they made.  Wherever I went, I left a trail of gold!   The only problem I experienced was when top stitching where the flap joined the bag in step 8.  The needle kept hitting sequins and stopping but no breakage and I adjusted the fabric slightly and carried on.

• My main difficulty was the thickness of the bag foam at the seams but I went really slowly and, although my sewing machine struggled, it got there in the end.

• I’ll definitely use sequin fabric again as it adds a touch of glamour to a bag, especially at this time of year. Now I just need to find somewhere glamorous to go!

Bag #39: Craft Caddy

I always have lots of projects on the go, so this craft caddy is a must.  I made it just the right size and shape for my needs but it could easily be adapted to be bigger or smaller.  Or it could be taller with more pockets.  That’s the joy of making it yourself – it’s just right for you. As soon as I have time, I'm going to make one half the size for smaller bits and pieces. The pockets would look good made from a contrast fabric. As usual, I used cotton fabric throughout, including a calico lining.

I made the main body with foam because I wanted it to be quite firm and upright, but it could be made with wadding for a floppier, less structured bag.  I used wadding for the pockets so that they would have a softer shape.  I allowed an extra inch (2.5 cm) of fabric for each pocket (two on each side) to make room to put things in it.  If you want pockets that hold more, you could increase that.  You might want one large pocket or several smaller ones for pens, tools, etc. I didn’t add any internal pockets because I had plenty on the outside, but they could easily be added to the lining using the same technique.

I cut straight strips from a plain cotton fabric for the binding.  As the edges are all straight, there is no need for bias binding.  When adding the binding for the pockets, I did it all by machine because the inside of the pockets if barely visible.  However, when sewing the binding around the top I decided to sew it to the outer fabric and fold it over onto the lining and hand sew it in place along the stitch line.  This is how I would normally sew binding on a quilt as it needs to look great on both sides.  This suited me because I enjoy hand sewing and had the time to do it, but it’s not essential.  It’s up to you!

The finished size is 16”/41 cm wide and 7”/18 cm deep at the top, 10”/25 cm high and it has a 10”/25 cm square base.

For the main bag, you will need 10” x 50” of outer fabric, lining, and foam and for the pockets  12” x 28” of outer fabric, lining and wadding.

Skill level – intermediate, but easy for a quilter who would be familiar with quilting and binding.

I used my normal stitch length (2.5) throughout but increased it to 3 for top stitching.  I used ½”/12 mm seams for the outer bag (due to the thickness of the foam) 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 bag handles

• Free motion embroidery

Step 1: Cutting out

I ended up using a different cord as this
was too floppy.

Cut out the following:

10” x 10” (25 cm x 25 cm) Bag sides and base (Cut 5 outer fabric, 5 bag foam, 5 lining)

12” x 7” (30.5 cm x 18 cm) Pockets (Cut 4 outer fabric, 4 wadding, 4 lining)

2½” x 85” (6 cm x 216 cm) Binding

2” x 44” (5 cm x 112 cm) Herringbone tape cut into two 22”/56 cm lengths

28” (71 cm) length of ½”/12mm Cord or tubing for the handles cut into two 14”/35.5 cm lengths

Step 2: Quilting

I cut my wadding a little bigger and trimmed it to size after quilting.

Assemble the quilt sandwich for the pockets.  Place the lining right side down, put the wadding on top of the lining and then add the outer fabric right side up.  Do this for all 4 pocket bundles. Pin the sandwich together at regular intervals.

Lower the feed dogs and, using the free motion embroidery foot, sew a random design to hold the quilt sandwich together.  Alternatively, sew straight lines up and down using a walking foot.

The side panels will need partial quilting.  Place the foam behind each layer of outer fabric and quilt the top 4” (this is all that will be visible when the pockets are sewn on.  Do not add the lining to the quilt sandwich, this will be added later.

The base will need quilting all over but again it will only be the foam and the outer fabric.

Quilting tends to make the edges uneven, so it is a good idea to trim to straighten them.

Step 3: Binding the top of the pockets

Fold the binding in half lengthways and press. 

 

Keeping it folded in half, pin the raw edges of the binding to the top of the lining side of one of the pocket pieces so that the raw edges of both fabrics meet.  Sew.  Fold the binding over the top edge and down onto the right side of the quilt sandwich so that it covers the stitch line.  Sew just above the folded edge.

Do this for all 4 pocket pieces. 

Step 4: Sewing the pockets to the side panels

Take one pocket piece and one side panel.  Place the side panel right side up and lay the pocket on top, also right side up.  The bottom of the pocket needs to match the bottom of the side panel.  Sew close to the edge down each side to hold them together.  This line of stitching should be within the seam allowance so that it is not visible when the bag is assembled.

Find the centre of the side panel and the pocket and sew a vertical line of stitching to create 2 pockets on each side.  Alternatively, sew as many vertical lines as you want to create appropriate size pockets for your needs.

Sew along the bottom edge, close to the edge, gently gathering the pocket.

Do this for all 4 pocket pieces.

Step 5: Assembling the outer bag

Pin the 4 side panels together at the side edges, right sides together and sew.

Pin the base to the side panels, right sides together and sew.

Turn the bag right side out.

Step 6: Making the handles

Fold the herringbone tape in half lengthways and sew the open side together as close to the edge as possible, starting and stopping approx 2½”/6 cm from each end.

This photo shows the cord I originally used.  I wanted a firmer handle
so I changed it after the bag was finished.

I was much happier with this style of cord.
It's the same diameter but firmer.

Thread the cord or tubing through the tape to create the handle shape and trim so that it is completely enclosed by the tape.

Step 7: Attaching the handles

Turn the raw edge under and pin the handles to opposite sides of the bag.  I placed mine approximately 1”/2.5 cm from the side seam and the end of the handle was about 2½"/6 cm from the top edge.

Sew a box or ‘X’ on the handle to attach it to the bag. 

Do this for each end of the handles, making sure that they are not twisted.

Step 8: Making the lining

With right sides together, sew the side seams of all 4 lining pieces and then, still with right sides together, sew them to the base.

Step 9: Assembling the bag

Place the lining inside the outer bag so that the wrong sides of the fabric are together.

Sew them together around the top edge, making sure that the handles are kept out of the way.

Sew binding all around the top edge, trimming back the edges where necessary so that the binding can be folded over the raw edge and sewn to hide the other stitch lines.

I’m really pleased with this bag.  The fabric is so appropriate. It’s just what I need to keep my forthcoming projects organised. Now I have no excuse for untidiness!

In this project I learnt:

• I have wanted to make ‘stuffed’ bag handles for ages but I was waiting for the right bag.  I originally used a soft plaited rope which made the handle really floppy.  After finishing the bag, I decided I didn’t like the look and changed the ‘stuffing’ for a firmer braided cotton cord.  I was much happier with the effect as the handles were able to stand up by themselves. Next time, I might try plastic tubing and sew how that compares.

• I have done free motion embroidery before but I’m very out of practice.  I was aiming for random swirls but it took a while to find my rhythm.  The first pocket wasn’t very good – varied stitch lengths, jerky movements and angular rather than curving shapes.  After a short while it began to get easier.  I increased the speed and moved the fabric more slowly which resulted in more regular stitches. I used a thread which matched the fabric so that quilting isn’t that visible – it’s more of an impression of quilting so I doubt if anyone would notice the flaws.  Overall I’m quite happy with it despite its imperfections!