For me, a small fabric bag is an essential accessory: I use it to carry my lunch to work, haul my groceries, transport my gym gear, or stow away my hat and scarf when it gets too warm inside shops.
Once finished, the bag measures approximately 34 cm wide by 38 cm high (excluding the handles). I have allowed for a 1 cm seam allowance.
Since I can’t live without one, I decided to make a lovely tote bag—and, while I was at it, a reversible one, so it would go with all my outfits [Yes, I’m a bit of a fashion victim]. Shall I show you how to make one?
Materials:
> Printed fabric
> Solid-colored fabric
> Matching thread and a needle
> Sewing scissors
> Pins
> A ruler and a pencil
> Tailor’s chalk (if your fabric is dark)
> A sewing machine
> An iron
...And an hour and a half of your time.
Instructions:
1. Cut two 36 x 42 cm rectangles from the printed fabric, and two more of the same dimensions from the solid-colored fabric. Also, cut two 9 x 60 cm strips from the solid-colored fabric for the handles.
2. Place the 36 x 42 cm printed fabric rectangles right sides together and pin them along the entire perimeter. Stitch 3 sides, leaving one of the shorter sides open. Repeat this process with the solid-colored fabric rectangles.
3. To make the handles, fold a 9 x 60 cm strip of fabric right sides together along its length to create a 4.5 x 60 cm strip.
Press with an iron to set the crease. Pin in place to secure, then stitch 0.5 cm from the edge. Turn right side out to form a tube. Press again with an iron to flatten. Finally, topstitch along both sides, as close to the edge as possible.
4. To add volume to the bag, sew across the bottom corners at an angle. To do this, fold the bottom of the printed bag so that the seams align. Using a ruler, measure 3.5 cm from the corner point and draw a guideline perpendicular to the seam [1]. Pin to keep the fabric in place and stitch along the line [2]. Trim the excess fabric 0.5 cm from the seam [3]. Repeat for the second corner. This creates a wider base for the bag with a nice, voluminous shape [4]. Do the same for the solid-colored bag.
5. Turn the plain-colored bag right side out and insert it into the printed bag, which should remain inside out. The right sides of the fabrics should be facing each other:
6. Insert a handle between the plain bag and the printed bag, positioning the curved part toward the inside and leaving 3 cm extending toward the outside. Secure the edge of the handle 8 cm from the side of the bag using pins.
Turn your work over and repeat the process on the other side with the second handle, taking care to ensure that the bases of the handles align so that they face each other.
7. Pin the two layers of fabric (solid and printed) together, placing a pin every two centimeters to ensure everything stays perfectly in place.
At this stage, you should have something resembling a small pouch, with the printed fabric on the outside, the solid fabric on the inside, and the handles positioned between the two layers.
8. Machine-stitch all the way around the edge of the bag, leaving an opening of about 4 cm between the handles (on one side only) so that you can turn the piece right-side out.
For added strength, go over the areas where the handles are attached once or twice more. Trim away any excess solid-colored fabric.
9. Turn the bag right side out. You will have two 'gusseted' sections—one solid-colored and one printed—with the handles in the middle. All that remains is to tuck the solid-colored section inside the printed one.
10. Final step: The finishing touches! Using matching thread and a needle, close the 4 cm opening by stitching as close to the edges as possible so that the seam is not visible.
And there you have it!
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