This small casual bag is ideal for when you only want to carry a few essentials, but the outer pockets of various widths are handy for stowing away a few extras like a pens and pencils and a small notebook. The perfect make for upcycling old jeans and using leftover scraps.
Finished size
Approx 25.5cm (10in) high x 10cm (4in) square base
Materials
✦ Two 32cm (12 1⁄2in) high x 21.5cm (8 1⁄2in) wide rectangles cut from old jeans, for outer bag panels
✦ Two 32cm (12 1⁄2in) high x 21.5cm (8 1⁄2in) wide rectangles, for bag lining panels
✦ Two 3 x 21.5cm (1 1⁄4 x 8 1⁄2in) pieces of medium-weight iron-on interfacing
✦ One 5.5 x 51cm (2 1⁄4 x 20in) strip, for bag binding
✦ Twenty-four 6.5cm (2 1⁄2in) squares, for pocket panels
✦ Two 6.5 x 21.5cm (2 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2in) strips, for pocket panels
✦ Two 23cm (9in) squares of thin wadding, for pocket panels
✦ Two 23cm (9in) squares of lining, for pocket panels
✦ Two 5.5 x 23cm (2 1⁄4 x 9in) strips, for pocket panel bindings
✦ Two 5 x 68.5cm (2 x 27in) strips, for drawstrings-cum-handles
✦ Four 13mm (1⁄2in) eyelets
✦ Binding clips
✦ Loop turner
✦ Temporary spray adhesive for fabric, optional
✦ Masking tape, optional
Where to buy
You may well have enough materials in your stash, but if not similar fabrics are available from quilt fabric shops or see our advertisers for mail order services.
If you don’t have any old jeans, check out charity shops and car boot sales. Eyelets are available from fabric shops and haberdashery departments.
Preparation
All measurements include 1⁄4in seam allowances, unless otherwise stated.
Handy hints
✦ It’s worth saving old jeans as the unworn parts can be upcycled into bag or cushion panels – I didn’t worry about having the jeans’ seams in my panels. If you save enough pairs you could make them into a throw; as denim is heavy you could just add a fl eece backing and tie (knot) the layers together.
✦ As Jelly Roll strips are 2 1⁄2in wide, if you have any left over from other projects you could use these to cut your 2 1⁄2in squares for the pocket panels. Alternatively, if you have 5in square charm squares you could subcut these to give four 2 1⁄2in squares from each one.
✦ I used a fat eighth pack of Oakshott Colourshotts to make my quilt; the pieces are 27in wide. I had some left overs that were full-width so was able to cut my bag binding and drawstring/handle strips from these.
Fig 1 Making the pocket panels
POCKET PANELS
1 Take twelve 2 1⁄2in squares and arrange them into three rows of four squares each. When you are happy with your arrangement, join the squares into rows and then join the rows. So that the seam intersections nestle neatly, press the seams of each row in the same direction and the seams of alternate rows in the opposite direction. Press the seams joining the rows to one side in the same direction each time. See Fig 1.
2 Join a 2 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2in strip to the bottom edge of the unit made in Step 1. See Fig 1.
3 Layer the pocket panel by placing a 9in lining square wrong side up on a clean fl at surface, followed by a 9in square of wadding and then the pocket panel, centrally and right side up; the lining and wadding are slightly larger than the pocket panel. Working from the centre outwards, pin with quilters’ safety pins or tack to secure, or use temporary spray adhesive.
4 Quilt-in-the-ditch, i.e. alongside the seams. At this stage, don’t stitch along the lower horizontal seam, i.e. the seam joining the strip to the squares; see also ‘Outer bag’ Step 3. Trim the excess lining and wadding level with the pocket edges.
5 Take a 2 1⁄4 x 9in pocket panel binding strip and fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Match up the raw edges of the binding with the raw edges of the top of the pocket – the binding is slightly longer than the pocket so you will have a slight overhang at each end which will be trimmed later. Sew the binding place with a 1⁄4in seam; fold it over to the wrong side of the pocket and neatly slipstitch in place by hand, and then trim off the excess binding at each end. See Fig 2.
6 Repeat Steps 1–5 to make the second pocket panel.
Fig 2 Binding the pocket panels
OUTER BAG
1 Take the 12 1⁄2in high x 8 1⁄2in wide denim panels and place them right side up on a clean fl at surface. Right side up and matching up the bottom and side
raw edges, place one of the pocket panels on top of each one. See Figs 3 and 4.
2 Use binding clips to hold the pocket panels in place – as the layers are thick
clips are easier to use than pins. Sewing through all of the layers, stitch-in-the-ditch
along the lower horizontal seam of the pocket panels, i.e. the seam joining the
strip to the squares; this is the line of the base of the bag.
Fig 3 Outer bag panels
3 If you wish, on one or both outer panels, you could stitch vertical lines through all of the layers to create smaller pockets. Start your stitching immediately under the binding and stop at the end of the squares, i.e. at the base of the bag; to secure the stitching, at each end of the seam either take a few backstitches or take the threads from the front through to the wrong side of the panel and tie off.
On one of the panels, Anne stitched down the centre of one of the pocket panels to give two 4in wide pockets; if you do this you could leave this line unquilted in ‘Pocket panels’ Step 4. On the other pocket panel she stitched down the centres of the two inner columns of squares to create a 2in wide centre pocket with a 3in wide pocket each side.
Fig 4 Pocket panels on top of the outer bag panels
4 Matching up the raw edges, place the bag panels right sides together – make sure you have both panels in the same orientation. Above the pocket panels, pin to secure; as it’s thick where the pocket panels face each other, use binding clips here. See Fig 5.
5 Starting at the top of one side edge, join down one side seam, stop 1⁄4in from the corner, pivot and stitch along the bottom, again stop 1⁄4in from the corner, pivot and then stitch up the other side seam.
6 Working on one side of the bag, refold it so the base seam is centred and one corner lies fl at. Pin to secure and then measure and mark where the distance from edge to edge is 4in – the edge points are the stitching lines where you stitched-in-the-ditch along the lower horizontal seam of the pocket panel in Step 2. See Fig 6.
Fig 5 Bag panels pinned and clipped together, ready for joining
Fig 6 Marking a bag corner
Fig 7 Trimmed bag corner
Fig 8 Interfacing fused to the wrong side of a lining panel
7 Stitch along the marked line and then trim 1⁄4in beyond the stitched line. See Fig 7.
8 Repeat Steps 6 and 7 for the other bag corner.
9 Turn the bag right side out.
BAG LINING
1 Place the 12 1⁄2in high x 8 1⁄2in wide lining panels wrong side up on an ironing board. Fuse a 1 1⁄4 x 8 1⁄2in lightweight interfacing strip along the top of each lining panel, with the top edge of the interfacing 3⁄8in down from the top edge of the lining. See Fig 8.
2 Matching up the raw edges, place the lining panels right sides together – make sure you have both panels in the same orientation; pin or tack to secure. Starting at the top of one side edge, join down one side seam, stop 1⁄4in from the corner, pivot and stitch along the bottom, again stop 1⁄4in from the corner, pivot and then stitch up the other side seam.
3 Working on one side of the bag lining, refold it so the base seam is centred and one corner lies fl at. Pin to secure and then measure and mark where the distance from edge to edge is 4in. Stitch along the marked line. If you wish you can trim the corner but as the lining isn’t thick you don’t need to; Anne folded her corner up to the side seam and caught the point in place with a few stitches. Repeat for the other bag lining corner. Leave wrong side out.
Fig 9 Marking the eyelet positons
Fig 10 Eyelets in place
BAG ASSEMBLY
1 Matching up the top raw edges, the seams and the base, place the bag lining inside the outer bag – wrong sides will be facing each other. Place a few pins vertically around the bag, not too close to
the top, to hold the pieces in place.
2 Take the 2 1⁄4 x 20in bag binding strip and fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press. Working from the outer side of the bag, match up the raw edges of the binding with the raw edges of the top of the bag. Sew the binding place with a 1⁄4in seam; before completing your stitching, neaten the
short raw end of the starting piece and insert the ending piece into it. Fold the binding over to the lining side of the bag and neatly slipstitch in place by hand.
3 If necessary, press around the top of the bag. To mark the eyelet positions, fold the bag in half across its width with the side seams running down the centre of each side. On each side, measure 1in
down from the lower edge of the bag binding – you could ‘mark’ this line with masking tape. You then need to mark the positions of the eyelets along this marked line; on each side, mark a dot 2in either
side of the centre (i.e. 2in from the side seams). See Fig 9.
4 Following the manufacturer’s instructions, place an eyelet at each of the marked positions on each side of the bag – the dots are the centre of the eyelets. The eyelets will be going through the interfaced part of the lining; the interfacing prevents fraying. See Fig 10.
Fig 11 Drawstrings-cum-handles threaded through the eyelets
Fig 12 Drawstring joined to create a handle
FINISHING
1 Take a 2 x 27in drawstring-cum-handle strip and fold it in half lengthwise, right sides together. Join on the long edge with a 3⁄8in seam allowance. Use the loop turner to turn the tube right side out; press, with the seam running along one edge. Repeat with the other drawstring-cum-handle strip.
2 Take one drawstring-cum-handle and, starting at one side edge – the bag still needs to be folded as it was when you put the eyelets in place – thread it in and out of the eyelets; both tails need to be on the outside of the bag. Repeat with the other drawstring-cum-handle, this time starting on the other side of the bag. See Fig 11.
3 Pull up the drawstrings to check that you’re happy with the length of the handles; trim if necessary, making sure they’re the same length and leaving 1in for joining to create the handle. Anne trimmed 4in off each of her drawstrings.
4 To complete the handles, working on one drawstring at a time, at one raw end fold 1⁄2in back inside the tube, then insert 1⁄2in of the other raw end into the tube; slipstitch to secure. See Fig 12. When you pull up the drawstrings to create the handles this also acts as a bag closure.
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