TUTORIAL : Reversible Knot Bag

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 www.indigobird.ca

This simple reversible bag is an easy project for beginner and advanced sewers alike - a great weekend project! Template is available for purchase at the sidebar.  Check out my most recent blog for the Video Tutorial.



You will need:

One Fat Quarter of patterned  fabric, 18" x 22" (46cm x 56cm)
One Fat Quarter of solid fabric, 18" x 22" (46cm x 56cm)

Pencil
Fabric scissors
Pins
Sewing machine
Coordinating machine sewing thread
Iron
Needle and thread for basting stitch (optional)


Download and print template. Fold each fabric in half, right sides facing. Trace template on each fabric, right sides facing, and cut out.




You now have two solid pieces and two pattern pieces.  Align and pin the two solid pieces together, right sides facing. Do the same with the two pattern pieces.




Right sides together, using 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew along the top of each handle and along the bottom curve of each pinned piece, leaving both sides of both handles open. Clip the curves.




Turn the solid piece right side out, and insert the solid piece into the inside-out patterned piece. Line up seams, raw edges, and handles. Pin the edges of the "neckline" of the bag.



Sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Clip the curves.



Going through the longer handle, turn the entire bag right side out (patterned fabric on the outside). Press all seams.



Fold raw edges of "armholes" in 1/4 inch and press. Pin or baste together. Topstitch 1/8 inch around bag handles to finish.

The Knot Bag is available in three sizes and the shoulder size bag comes with a inner pocket template. All the templates are full size so no need to enlarge.

TUTORIAL: Knitting Bento Bag (Azuma Bukuro Bag)

This is a super easy project that you can sew in a couple of hours or less!

Here's what you'll need:

Cut one piece of fabric 10"x 26.5". It's a good idea to use a linen or linen/cotton blend fabric for this project because both sides will be visible.  I used linen for this project but Robert Kauffman's yarn-dyed fabrics work beautifully too. The finished size is approximately 7.5" x 5" x 10h (to the tip of the bag)".

Cut fabric to size. Place the wrong side of the fabric facing up. Fold the raw edge 1/4" towards the wrong side of the fabric and press.  Then fold it towards the wrong side again, hiding the raw edge, and then press. Do this for all sides.  PLEASE BE PRECISE WITH FOLDING.  If measurement is off then, the bag will end up crooked.

Sew all the way around close to the folded edge. Lay the wrong side of the fabric facing the floor, right side up. Then grab the left end of the fabric and bring it about the third way towards the right. Now bring the right side of the fabric over to the left. 

 

Now you have three layers of fabric with wrong side facing up. Lift up the first layer and sew along the remaining two layers together right along the seam line. 

Sew as close to the seam as possible. Then turn the fabric around so that the sewn edge is facing away from you like in the picture and bring the corner of the fabric towards the sewn corner, forming a triangle. 

Now overlap the fabric as before. Now you are going to sew these two layers together along the seam. Basically, you are peeling off the middle layer so that it's out of the way while you sew the top and the bottom layer together. 

If you did correctly, it should look like this when you turn it right side out. At this point, you can do a decorative accent at the centre as shown.

Turn the bag inside out again so that the right side of the bag is on the inside. Grab the corners up and gently drop them to the centre so that you can work on the gusset. It's up to you how much gusset you want to create. For 9"x27" bag, I made a 5" gusset across. 

That's it! Turn the bag right side out, and voila! You will be surprised at how roomy the bag can be. 

Let me know if you have any questions!