Scrap bag sampler - project bag

 Here is a tutorial on my project bags and there are two versions with a small difference as one is made with one fabric for the backing and the other uses left over blocks and a border.

Lets’ start with the bag made from a whole piece of fabric. If like me, you are a visual leaner, I have based my bag on Jenn Crafts Youtube tutorial that you can view here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g-AgacaHT0&t=1679s

Requirements for 12” bag

Fat quarter of fabric for interior cut into:

12” square

2” x 12.5” strip – press in half to make a 1” wide strip

4” x 12.5” strip – press in half and then fold the sides into the centre and press again to make a 1” wide strip

12” square of firm interfacing, I used a very sturdy peltex which has glue on both sides

14” square of backing fabric

12.5” x 11” piece of vinyl – I used By Annie’s. You need a robust vinyl.

14” zip

4” piece of ribbon (optional)

Thread to match both the backing and interior fabric

Parchment paper or Teflon sheet (essential)

Zipper foot

Walking foot

Vinyl front

This is the same for both bags in every aspect apart from dimensions. Tip If you have a directional fabric, double check the pattern is the right way up before stitching the zipper down.

Using your zipper foot and with zipper pull on the left, pin and sew the 2” x 12.5” strip to the zipper with the folded edge towards the zipper. Start with the zipper pull half way open and then as you approach the zipper pull, move it back to the top.

Take the 4” x 15” strip and insert the vinyl into the fold. You will enclose the edge of the vinyl. Stitch 1/8” away from the edge closest to the vinyl. If you are using a zipper foot the foot won’t be touching the vinyl, so don’t panic.

With the zip pull still on the left, pin the strip at the top of the vinyl to the zip and line up with the first strip. Start sewing from the right with the zipper on the left. Leave the zipper closed for the first half and then open up to allow you to stitch to the end.

 

Sew a basting stitch across both ends of the zip. You don’t want to have to try and get the zipper pull back on the zip.  I have done this so many times; you’d think I’d have learnt by now.

Trim this unit to 12” square.

Putting the fabrics together

Take the 12” squares of interior fabric and interfacing and your sheet of parchment. Lay the parchment on your ironing board, then your interfacing and then matching up the edges, place your fabric on top and I use steam to adhere the interfacing to the fabric. Using the parchment means the interfacing doesn’t stick to your ironing board.

Fold your piece of ribbon in half and place 3.5” down from the top edge of your interior fabric and interfacing and baste in place.

Take your backing fabric and draw a line 1” away from all four sides on the wrong side of the fabric.

Put the backing fabric on your ironing board and centre the interior fabric/interfacing sandwich using your guidelines. Press in place.

Putting the bag together

On your cutting mat. Place your vinyl front unit on top of your fabric sandwich matching up the edges. Trim the vinyl if necessary.

Starting on the right hand side with the vinyl front facing you, fold the excess fabric in half and then fold again to encase the vinyl. Hold in place with binding clips. 

To make the mitred corner, fold the bottom fabric corner into the side of the bag. Watch the video at 2.25 min for a visual aid. Then fold the bottom edge of the backing fabric in half and then fold again to encase the vinyl. Secure with lots of binding clips.

Repeat until all four sides are prepped. Take your time as it is worth redoing corners to make sure it’s looking good.

Do you need to change your thread colour to match the binding? Change to your walking foot. It’s time to stitch the binding down. Take it slow and stitch 1/8” away from the edge of the binding. When you get to the corner, I stitch a couple of stitches into the corner and then reverse. Turn and stitch the next side and repeat until you have all four side stitched down.

Well done, you’re now finished.

Scrap bag sampler variation

To change the size of the bag, you just need to remember that the backing is 2” wider and longer than the interior and vinyl. I have made this bag 16” square.

Requirements for 16” bag

16” square for interior

2” x 16.5” strip – press in half to make a 1” wide strip

4” x 16.5” strip – press in half and then fold the sides into the centre and press again to make a 1” wide strip

Blocks and border fabric for the backing.

16” square of iron on Bosal which has glue on both sides

16.5” x 15” of vinyl – I used By Annie’s You need a robust vinyl.

18” zip

4” piece of ribbon (optional)

Thread to match both the backing and interior fabric

Parchment paper or Teflon sheet (essential)

Zipper foot

Walking foot

Vinyl front

See instructions for 12” bag.

Making the backing

Now you need to make a piece of fabric for the back which measures 18” square. I pieced together four blocks to make a 12.5” square and then added 3.5” mitred borders. If you’d like to mitre the corners, you need to cut 3.5” strips at least 17” long.

To mitre the border, pin your borders to the top and bottom of your 12.5” block.  Mark the border fabric ¼” in from top and sides of the 12.5” block. Stitch from one dot to another with a ¼” seam, back stitch at the beginning and end and trim your threads. Press border away from the centre.

Then add your borders to the two sides and make sure that you don’t stitch into the previously added borders. Press border away from the centre.

Refer to my photos and stitch one corner at a time. With your work, right side up, fold the top fabric down and draw a 45 degree line from the previously marked dots out to the underneath border.

 

Now match the edges of both borders and pin in place making sure there’s no excess fabric. Stitch the seam from the dot outwards. Press open and make sure you’re happy with the result. If you’re happy with the corner, press the seam open and trim the excess fabric.

Repeat for all four corners.

Putting the fabrics together

See instructions for 12” bag.

Then quilt as desired. I kept it very simple as the quilting will be seen on the interior.

Putting the bag together

See instructions for 12” bag.

Scrap bag sampler - bucket bag

We have finished our ten weeks of sampler blocks using our scraps and it’s now time to make something useful with your blocks. You can use any bag pattern you want to show off your piecing but I have designed a simple bucket bag with webbing handles that you might like. The instructions follow. Do not be put off by the little bit of maths as once you have the numbers, the bag goes together quickly.

Requirements

30.5” by 8.5” unfinished panel of blocks

Bosal or similar to make the bag stand up nicely.

30.5” by 8.5” for the lining

10” square of bosal, lining fabric and outer fabric for the base

Two 15” pieces of webbing for the straps

Quilting

You first need to quilt your panel and base of the bag using the outer fabric and bosal. Once quilted, trim the panel of blocks and measure. Don’t panic if the panel is smaller than you started with as that is the effect of the quilting

Width of panel                _____   (A)        

Using these measurements we are going to work out the radius of our base.

Finished size of panel    _____   (A)         - 0.5” for the seam allowance = _____   (B)             

Radius of base                 _____   (B)         multiplied by 7 divided by 44 = _____     (D)                                          

              Plus  0.25” for the seam allowance = _____ (R)  round to the nearest 0.25”

Example

Width of panel                30.25”   (A)        

Using these measurements I worked out the radius of my base.

Finished size of panel    30.25”   (A)         - 0.5” for the seam allowance =  29.75”  (B)             

Radius of base                 29.75”   (B)         multiplied by 7 divided by 44 =  4.75”     (C)                                          

              Plus  0.25” for the seam allowance = 5” (R)         round to the nearest 0.25”

Cutting out

Take your rectangle of lining fabric and trim down to the same size as your quilted panel.

Set your compass to your radius measurement  (R) and draw a circle on both the quilted bottom and the 10” square of outer fabric. Cut out with scissors

Stitch 1/8” in from the edge of the quilted outer panel and the quilted bottom.

Phew you’re now ready to sew it all together.

Putting the bag together

1.       Stitch the lining together at the short ends using a ¼” seam and press open. Repeat for bag panel. Then sew 2 lines of topstitching parallel  to the side seam to keep the seam allowance open. I sewed about 1/8” away from the seam.

2.       Mark the following into quarters:

Bag panel at bottom of panel

Lining at bottom of lining

Quilted circle for bottom on inside

Circle of lining on inside

3.       Pin the quilted base of the bag to the bag panel using the quarter registration marks and then pin extensively as shown. I sewed the pieces together with the base closest to the sewing machine and the bag panel upper most. Take it slowly but surely.

4.       Repeat for the lining.

5.       Now we’re ready to put it all together. Unpick 6” of the side seam of the lining to enable us to turn the bag.

6.       Fold the bag in half with the seam of the bag panel as one edge. Find the half way point on both side and mark. Then mark 1.5” to either side of that marking. Line up the webbing for the straps to the outside of these marks with ends extending 1” above the edge of the bucket bag. Pin or baste in place on the right side of the bag panel.

7.       Insert the lining of the bag inside the outside of the bag, right sides together. Place the seam of the lining opposite to the seam of the outside to eliminate bulk. Hold together with binding clips and sew together with a ¼” seam allowance.

8.       Turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining. Stitch the hole in the seam closed either by hand or machine.

9.       Roll the seam of the top of the bag to ensure the lining is now peeking out and use binding clips to keep in place. I then top stitched 1/8” and ¼” from the edge.

I hope you have enjoyed our fun little sewalong and do share your finished bags using #scrapbagsampler There will be instructions for a second bag on 16 March as I have more blocks than I needed. Thank you to you for joining in and to my friends who agreed to design a little block for your enjoyment.

Sunday stash - is self isolation looming?

A few purchases have been made or arrived this week. First is my very first purchase from Oakshott Fabrics which generated a couple of calls from Michael as I ha bucked the system and some items were out of stock. Since this photo I have labeled all of the colours and Michael pointed out a couple of substitutions. This is for the March UFO for the Jersey Modern Quilt Group challenge. Let's hope next month is an easier pick as I need to work on my Hex on the Beach which is EPP heavy.

A cross stitch hart from ebay along with the necessary threads for a Frosted Pumpkin sewalong from Crafty Quilters. My son purchased some fabric for this in Las Vegas for my. The shop owner was very helpful and happy to do a video call ia Facebook so I could see the fabrics.

A few more charts from Ebay which have not been kitted up. I have too many in progress already. Perhaps next year?

From Crafty Quilters are some recommendations for more accurate piecing from Philippa Naylor who taught two classes last weekend:

Smaller rotary cutter

Microtex 60 needles

Bottom line thread

All of these will come in useful for my March UFO and I have been using them for the Alison Glass mini series sewalong

I  well stocked up for Coronaggedon as I am sure are most crafteers, I feel sorry for those who have no hobbies that they can enjoy whilst self isolating. That hasn't hit us yet, but it's probably only a matter of time.

scrap bag sampler week 10 - tete a tete block

March was my mum’s birthday month and she would plant lots of the miniature Tête-à-tête narcissus in pots to brighten up her doorstep so this was the inspiration for my block design. 

Tête-à-tête Blocks by @surfseasew

I have designed Two 6 ½” x 6 ½“ square Tête-à-tête blocks: A beginners’ version and one a bit more advanced so take your pick or do both – I hope you enjoy sewing the block and it’ll be fab to see all your sweet flowers.

First things first

As the pattern involves sewing together small pieces of fabric I shorten the stich length on my sewing machine to around 2. I also use a scant ¼” seam allowance. To check the accuracy of your seam width sew a test piece of spare fabric using either a ¼” foot, if your machine comes with one, or a normal foot, and once sewn measure your seam allowance with a ruler.  You may need to adjust your needle position to get an accurate ¼” seam 

On my Janome the ¼” needle position is set at 8.3 but I tend to move it to about 8.9 – If you don’t have a ¼” foot don’t worry as you can adjust your needle position and use the edge of your standard foot as a guide or use some tape to mark on your needle plate or use a magnetic guide

Beginners’ Block

Cut out your required pieces – I have used scraps of Green and Yellow fabrics but any colours with a good contrast will work well - just have fun with your scraps – Try and use similar shades to differentiate between the stalks and the flower petals with a mix of light, medium and dark fabric.

Marking and Sewing

You can mark your sewing line on the squares by either folding and creasing with a roller or using a Hera marker or pencil

On the reverse of the (6) 2”x2” flower petal squares
mark, crease or draw a diagonal line from corner to corner across the square

With RIGHT sides together and following the diagram place (4) of the marked squares lining up with the top edge of:

(2) 5”x 2” rectangles

(2) 3 ½ ” x 2” rectangles

The marked diagonal line should run from bottom LEFT corner to the top RIGHT corner

Also, place the remaining (2) flower petal
squares with (2) of the 2”x2” Green Stem squares

Either pin or clip the fabric pieces RIGHT sides together to stop them slipping whilst you sew on these lines – I usually chain sew pieces and start sewing using a small scrap of offcut fabric so that the thread doesn’t catch or bunch-up under the needle.

 

Join the pieces by sewing directly on the marked diagonal line.

Trimming

Using an ‘Add a Quarter’ ruler or other measuring ruler place it so the ¼ “ line is directly on top of the sewn line of stitching and the edge of the ruler is ¼ “ away then trim the excess with a rotary cutter as in the diagrams 

Press open the seams on all 6 pieces of fabric and lay out all your sewn pieces together with the (1) remaining unsewn 3 ½ “ x 2” rectangle and the (2) unsewn 2” x 2” squares.

Following the diagram sew the pieces RIGHT sides together using a scant ¼ “ seam as shown to get (4) 6½ “ x 2” strips

Finally, sew the (4) strips Right sides together using a scant ¼ “ seam

 And Voila – hopefully you will have your completed block

Intermediate Block

This block is very similar in design to that of the Beginner block but uses narrower pieces of fabric and although it looks complicated the piecing follows the same steps with an additional initial step of joining fabric strips to make the ‘stem’ pieces.

Cutting Out

*Read through before cutting out* as you may want to chain piece long 1” strips together from your stash beforehand and then cut to the smaller sizes

From your stash you will need the following pieces for your stalks

(4) 5 ½ “ x 1”

(4) 4 ½ “ x 1” (6) 3 ½ “ x 1”

(4) 2 ½ “ x 1”

(4) 1 ½ “ x 1”

(3) 1 ½ “ x 1 ½ “

And the following contrasting coloured pieces for your petals

(9) 1 ½ “ x 1 ½ “

Marking and Sewing

With a scant ¼ “ seam sew together the matching lengths of 1” wide strips in pairs so you get:

(2)  5 ½ “ x 1 ½ ”

(2)  4 ½ “ x 1 ½ ”

(3)  3 ½ “ x 1 ½ ”

(2)  2 ½ “ x 1 ½ ”

(2)  1 ½ “ x 1 ½ ”

Press seams to one side

Follow the beginners’ pattern by marking a diagonal line across the reverse of all the (9) 1 ½ “ x 1 ½ “ petal
squares.

In the same way as with the beginners’ pattern place (6) of the petal squares Right sides together across the
top width edge of:

(2) of the 5 ½ “ x 1 ½ ” rectangles

(2) of the 4 ½ “ x 1 ½ ” rectangles

(2) of the 3 ½ “ x 1 ½ ” rectangles

And the remaining (3) petal squares Right sides together with the (3)  1 ½ “ x 1 ½ “ stalk squares

The marked diagonal line should run from bottom LEFT corner to the top RIGHT corner

Sew directly on the marked line of all (9) pieces

As described in the beginners’ pattern measure

the ¼ “ seam and trim off of the excess  

Press seams open

Following the design and with Right sides together continue to join the strips together in rows and then the
rows together using the same scant ¼ “ seam allowance pressing your seams open as you go to reduce bulk with such small fabric pieces

Give your block a good press and sit back and admire your pretty flowers

 

**************************************************

I think this is a great tribute to Gill's Mum and tear up every time I think about it. I used the simple block for the sewalong bag.

And can you believe that's the end of the blocks for our 10 week sewalong. Come back next week for the instructions for the sewalong bucket bag or use any bag pattern to showcase your lovely blocks.

Visit our designers on Instagram to see their versions of this block : @cotefleurie @getahashtagkim @JustSewSue @lisasew @metroquilter @picosailors @pippaspatch @quirkyhannah  @surfseasew @therunninghare

#scrapbagsampler