I blame my mother, who routinely taught me that there was no such thing as having too many handbags. It's an adage I have applied to many other things (including but not limited to shoes, nail polishes, fabric, and scarves, but that's besides the point.) I'm a firm believer that there you should have a bag for every occasion. This Twill Tape Tote is perfect for ladies nights out or appetizer parties at the neighbors. An easy bag you can toss a few bottles into with some chips and dips or cheese and crackers and, bam, you're out the door. Sturdy, reliable and just adorable.
What you need:
1 yard of home decor weight fabric (exterior)
1 yard of quilt weight cotton (interior)
1 yard interfacing (I recommend Pellon SF101)
5 yards of 2" wide twill tape
I recommend using a denim weight titanium needle and a walking foot for this project.
Cut your exterior fabric into:
Two 18" x 15" (bag sides)
Two 10" x 15" (pockets)
Two 4" x 12" (handle accents)
Cut your interior fabric into:
Two 18" x 15" (bag sides)
Two 10" x 15" (pockets)
Cut your twill tape into:
Two 15" lengths
Two 72" lengths
Let's get sewing!
1. Interface your exterior bad side pieces and exterior pockets. This will add stability to your bag.
2. Put exterior pocket piece together with lining pocket piece wrong sides facing. Pin a 15" length of twill tape along the top edge of the pocket on the lining side with a 1" overlap. Edge stitch the twill tape in place. Fold twill tape over the top edge of the pocket and stitch the other edge in place on the exterior side. Repeat for second pocket.
3. Align completed pocket with bottom edge of an exterior bag side. Pin one 72" length of twill tape to the bag so that the twill tape is 3" from the sides of the bag sides and it loops to form a handle. Use a pin to mark 1.5" down from the fabric edge on the twill tapes. On each end of the twill tape handle edge stitch up one side to the 1.5" pin, then turn, stitch across the twill tape and back down the other side. Stitch the other end of the twill tape handle to the bag side and pocket. Repeat for the other bag side and pocket.
4. Place exterior bag panels right sides facing and stitch a 0.5" seam allowance down one side, along the bottom, then up the other side. Repeat with your bag lining panels.
5. On your bag exterior open seam allowances and align the bottom seam with the side seam to flatten and box out bag corners. Measure in 2.5" from the corner and mark a line. Stitch across the line and trim off excess corner material. Repeat for other exterior corner and lining corners.
6. Turn exterior of your bag right sides out. Press the top edge of the bag down 0.5" towards the wrong side of fabric. Insert lining into the bag exterior wrong sides facing together (right sides out.) Fold lining fabric top edge into the wrong sides and pin to bag exterior matching side seams. Edge stitch along top edge of bag taking care not to stitch a handle down.
7. Fold the short ends of each handle accents in 0.25" and press. Stitch each fold. Press handle accents in half the long way wrong sides facing. Fold raw edges into the crease you just made to form a 1" wide folded handle accent. Find the center points of the twill tape handles and the handle accents. Fold the center of the twill tape handle in half and insert it into a handle accent, aligning the centers. Pin entire handle accent in place with twill tape handle folded inside. Edge stitch a rectangle around the handle accent. Repeat to finish your other handle and you're done.
This post was sponsored by Twilltape.com and originally posted on the Crafterhours blog All opinions expressed are my own. The cotton twill tape I received from Twilltape.com is quite lovely. ;)
