Tag: handbag

Sara’s Tote Bag

Annika Leave a comment
Follow me

Hello Everyone!

My daughter Sara wanted me to make her a tote bag that was a bit bigger and sturdier to use for uni. The bag measures 17″ x 14″ and is 4″ deep at the bottom. That is a very good size for some books and a laptop.

She likes things with cactus plants and flamingos at the moment. I had a cotton duck fabric with printed cactus plants and I bought a small piece of grey vinyl that I used for the bottom of the bag and the handles. I didn’t have any suitable fabric with flamingos so I used a “flamingo pink” cotton fabric for lining.

The bag has a magnetic button and on the inside there is a small pocket with a zipper for smaller things like keys or a phone.

 

 

To keep the bag sturdy I used bag foam which I haven’t used that much but it was easy to work with. The handles were sturdy enough by folding the vinyl  twice.

It is a very easy bag to make and I intend to make a tutorial in the near future and upload it to my tutorials page.

Until next time, happy sewing and take care.

Annika

 

The Alex Bag

Annika Leave a comment
Follow me

Hello Everyone!

Winter is finally coming to an end here in Australia, even if it is still a bit cool here in Melbourne, spring is here.

I have designed this cross body bag for my daughter’s best friend Alex, she will be 18 in a couple of weeks and wanted a roomy cross body bag in red velvet for her birthday. It measures 9″ x 13″ x 4″ excluding the strap. I have made the strap, zipper panel and the edges on the double welt pocket in dark brown pleather. The front of the bag has a pocket across the bag that’s divided into two sections.

On the back of the bag is the zippered double welt pocket.

The zipper panel is recessed and have zipper tabs in both ends.

The lining of the bag is made of quilting cotton and has one pocket with a zipper and one without.

Usually I use iron on interfacing and iron on fleece, which doesn’t work very well with the velvet since it will melt. So I used 1/8″ thick felt as interlining, it worked very well.

Until next time, happy sewing and take care!

Annika

Cross Body Bag

Annika Leave a comment
Follow me

Hello Everyone!

I have been working on a couple of new designs. I was asked to make a cross body bag for a birthday present and this is the first design. I have too many ideas to try out sometimes and an ample fabric stash.

The bag measures 15″ x 8″ and is 3 1/2″ deep and has 2 big pockets on the front of the bag. Very good size if you like a larger handbag.

Read More

Velvet Clutch/Handbag

Annika Leave a comment
Follow me

Hello Everyone,

I am going to make a hand bag for my daughter’s best friend’s 18th birthday. She wants a bag made out of velvet so I decided to make a  smaller test project to see how it is to work with. I made a larger clutch/handbag with a detachable chain. It measures 11″ x  8″ and I boxed the bottom corners just 1 inch.

It is made like a large zipper pouch, just like this coin purse that you can find on my tutorials page or here. The pieces are bigger and I added pockets to the lining pieces. I also added two tabs with D-rings in the lining side seams to attach the chain. It is important that it is a little opening on each end of the zipper ends for the chain to go through.

When I boxed the corners I sewed the lining and outside bag corners together. That is a great way to keep the lining in place.

The velvet I used is quite thin so I ironed on thin batting. It is important to use a tea towel or similar to protect both batting, velvet and the iron. I used a light weight fusible woven interfacing on the lining. This worked very well for this project.

Considering it is a  test project I think it turned out very well. My daughter said she wanted to use the bag on Saturday night. That is a big compliment to me!

Happy sewing and take care!

Annika

 

Tote Handbag

Annika Leave a comment
Follow me

Hello Everyone!

I have a new pattern in my Etsy shop, you can find it here. This is my entry in the Emkie Designs Mystery Bag Challenge.

It is the first time I participate in anything like this. Part of the challenge was to choose at least 3 items from a mystery list to be included in the entry. I chose five items. So that’s the reason this bag includes more hardware than my designs usually do.

The handles have boning inside to make them really stiff. I have also used a turn lock as the bag closure and rivets  to secure the handles to the bag.

On the inside I have used a zipper for a secure pocket and a swivel hook to keep the keys safe and easy to find in the bag.

 

To keep the bag sturdy I have used  medium weight fusible woven interfacing on the outer fabric and then iron on batting on top of that. On the lining I have used light weight fusible woven interfacing.

I am really happy with how it turned out, especially the boning in the handles and the rivets.

Until next time happy sewing and take care!

Annika