Tara's Favorite Bag - Zipper Part 2 :)

Okay, so, we have the zipper attached to the zipper fabric, and there's excess zipper at both ends :)

Now, while the zipper is still easily manueverable, you will want to trim the "open" end of the zipper to about 1 inch from the end of the fabric.  Fold back this zipper at a slight angle, and stitch/tack it in place securely.  This picture should help explain what I mean.

The picture shows the zipper attached, but that's only because I didn't take a picture before attaching it.

The next step is to pin your zipper piece to the bag.  Look at this picture while I explain.

You want to center this zipper fabric in the center of your bag.  You will have your bag inside out, and the zipper fabric will be on the "right" side of the bag as you see here.  The "inside" of the bag is the greenish/tan.. an the "outside" is the purple.  You will have about 1 1/2 inches from the end of the zipper fabric to the seam on both ends.  Pin this well.

The above picture shows a close up of the "bottom" end of the zipper.  This end will be a little tight to stitch around, but if you take your time it should be fine.  We are not stitch quite yet however.  We need to pin the binding to the top as well.

So we are going to take our binding strips (2 1/4" x 40") and pin it on top of the zipper fabric.  Still working with the bag inside out.  I leave a few inches of the binding fabric beginning and end unpinned so that I can cut them to fit perfectly in a bit.  First we will stitch the binding and zipper fabric to the top of the bag.  Looking at the picture above, we will start to the right of the open binding ends, stitch around the top of the bag and end to the left of the loose binding ends.  There will be about 4 inches that isn't stitched yet.

Above is a picture of the zipper and binding at my machine.  I'm ready to stitch.  (Remove the pins before you get to them.)

I take the piece out of the machine.  Then I lay the bag flat, and smooth out the loose binding ends.  I want to cut them so that they overlap 1/2 of an inch.  I usually estimate, but you can measure exactly if you'd like to.

I then pin the ends together, and pulling / folding them out from the bag, I take it to the machine and stitch the binding closed.  See picture below for what it will look like when flattened out again.

Then take it back to the machine and complete the binding stitching.  The binding and zipper fabric should now be securely fastened to the bag.  Our bag is still inside out!

Next we want to fold the binding all the way to the inside of the bag (which in this current position is the "outside" of the bag) .. You can see in the above picture that I smooth it out so that the seam will be pressed over as well as the binding.  The line between the tan binding in this picture and the green zipper fabric is actually the seam line as well.  Fold over and pin all the way around the bag.

When you get to the "bottom" end of the zipper, pin the ends of the zipper on top of the binding.  This will secure this end and make opening and closing the zipper easier.

We will then do our top finish-stitching.  First, stitch a generous 1/4 inch from the seam line.  This will place the stitching just on the edge of the bulk of the seam which was turned over. (This first stitching is shown in the picture above.) 
In the picture below, you see the 2nd line of stitching, which is right on the edge of the fold of the binding. This should be 1/4 " away from your first line of stitching.

Turn your bag right side out.  Are you ready?  There is your finished bag! :)  Isn't it magnificant! :)



Tara's Favorite Bag - the zipper - part 1

Okay, now don't be scared, but we are going to add a zipper :)

First off, we need to measure the bottom of our bag. (between the boxed corners.)

Mine measures 15 1/2" and so I will cut my zipper fabric to 3 1/2" x 16". (two pieces)

I will then fold them right sides together, and stitch ONLY the short sides.  I then trim the corner and turn it right side out.  Press them neatly.

I then pin the folded side of this fabric to my zipper.  One piece of fabric on each side of the zipper, being sure that the ends of the fabric match up across the zipper. 

The following pictures show me stitching the one piece of fabric one to the zipper.  I always stitch to my zipper twice. The pictures show better then I can explain it with words.

 And wahlah .. the finished zipper piece.  You will notice that I left some length of zipper at the "bottom" end .. atleast an inch .. two inches would be fine as well, and the rest of the zipper is at the "top".  I actually used a 22" zipper, instead of the 18" that I put in the requirements because that is what I had on hand... 18" would be the minimum size you'd want for this bag.

I've got to run, but I'll try to post the next part soon!

Tara's Favorite Bag - the last inside pocket.

Hi all :)

Here is a still photo of measuring for the boxed corners.  Just in case you can't see it well in the video.  Notice again that you should measure the same measurement from the fold and from the stitching.

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After boxing the corners, the next step is to add the final inside pocket(s).  You can add as many as you'd like, but I will be adding just one.  The technique will be the same for all of them.

Option 1 is to ue your last pocket piece (about 4" x 6") and attach it as a wide pocket over the side seam.

Option 2 is to use your last pocket piece (about 4" x 6") and folding it, attach it as two smaller pockets over the side seam.

Depending on what you plan to use for this pocket, it will determine which way to stitch the pocket on.

I have hand-sttiched my pocket on, because it goes down into the area behind the outside pockets.  If I did it on the machine, I would be either stitching the outside pocket closed or fighting the outside pocket trying to get into a small space.  If your pocket is above the outside pocket, then you will be free to use the machine, however, handing stitching works just as well.

One thing to be aware of, is to make sure that you are atleast 1 inch down from the top raw edge of the bag.  We will be adding the zipper next and will need room for the seam allowance.

If you have additional quilted fabric, you can add an identical pocket on the other side seam.  Add as many pockets as you like at this point.

Have fun! :)

Tara's Favorite Purse - Boxing The Corners

Sorry for the delay in getting this next step posted.  Oh, the "best laid plans of mice and men" uh?

Today we will be working on boxing the corners of your bag.  You should have already sewn down both sides of your bag, making a flat quilt look like a .. well, like a bag! :)  I find this is the step when I get really excited about my bags because it is actually looking like a bag instead of just a layer of fabric. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have created a video for you to view for these directions, but I will say just a few things.

When marking your corners .. be sure you are measuring from the fold and from the stitching line.  I used 3/4 of an inch for my measurement, if you want a wider bag, you can use 1" or a bit more.  Just be sure that you stay atleast 1/2" from the binding of the outside pockets.  You'll be able to feel the "bump" from these bindings.  If you get too close to these, stitching the corner closed will be very difficult and you won't get a secure seamline.

After you have cut out the square for your boxed corners, you then pull the square open and flatten it. Then stitch it.  I use a straightline stitch, and then go back and use a zig zag inside the seam allowance.  You could use a serger instead of zig zag if you have one.

At this time you could also zig zag or serge your upper side seams.  If you want to reduce bulk here, then you could alterantely using some fabric or seam binding and cover these raw edges with the seam open.  It all depends on how "finished" you want the inside of your bag to be.  I generally choose to zig zag these side seams.

Without further ado .. here's the video:

Tara's Favorite Bag - more on Handles

It's come to my attention that maybe my directions on laying out the handles made more sense to me then it did to you *grin* so ...  I will show you a slightly different way to lay out your handles.

First lay your purse base flat (on the floor, on the table - anywhere you have a little room to work).

Lay your handle strip on top of it so it looks like this:

If you are using this layout to test the length of your handle, then just determine how much loop you want on each end (this will be the part that you hold onto or put over your shoulder), and cut it to the length you desire. Then continue with the stitching)

If you already have your handle to length and have stitched down the entire length of it, then you can mark the "middle" by making the "circle" of the handle flat, and then putting a pin at each end.  These can be your "middles".  You will then lay your handle on your purse, and put these "middles" in the middle of the purse between the pockets as seen here: (it's kind of hard to see the pins - :(  )

You want to put your stitching right on top of the stitching you did to secure the pockets .. I've folded back part of the handle so you can see how you should line the stitching up.  Your second line of stitching will be "outside" the pockets. 

So, better?  A little more visual atleast.

Tara's Favorite Bag - Attaching Inside Pockets

At Long Last :) .. Here are the photos from attaching the inside pockets to the bag base.



In this picture you see how I have my pockets about 5 1/2" from each side, and 4" down from the top of the bag. I line these up, pin well, and sew (with a even-feed foot) down the sides and along the bottom of each of these pockets. Be sure that the bottom binding of this pocket, is below the binding of the outside pocket. Your sewing machine will thank you for it!

Tara's Favorite Bag - Attaching outside pockets.

Well, with the binding on the pockets, we are ready to attach the outside pockets to the base of the purse.

First we will lay out the purse base with the "outside" fabric facing up. We then lay the 6" x 18" pocket pieces on top, Leaving 3 1/2 inches from the edge of the bag to the top of the pocket. There will be between 2 and 4 inches between the bottom of the pockets.

As you can see in the picture, I chose to use the purple side of the pockets on the purple side of the purse base. I like this look better for my particular fabrics, however, you may want to turn the pockets over and use the reverse side as a contrast on your bag. It's totally up to you. Try both ways and see which way you like best.

After you get these positioned, pin them in place so they won't shift. Then take it to the machine, and use a walking foot to stitch the bottom of the pocket. You will want to stitch right in the crease of the binding.

While you have this piece on the machine, you will want to baste the edge all the way around.

Next, we'll look at the inside pockets.

Tara's Favorite Bag - binding on pocket pieces

Well, I will be showing you today how I am putting binding on my two 6x18" outside pockets. I took a few pictures and will be showing you how to put binding on, totally by machine.

On the smaller inside pockets, I am putting binding on all four sides, so I will treat those like I do my full size quilts, sew the binding on the right side of the quilt first, then turn it over and stitch the backside of the binding by hand. I find this is the easiest and neatest way to do it since I'll be turning corners and turning corners on the machine be tricky.

For the large pockets, we are putting binding only on the top and the bottom, and the sides will be covered in the seam of the bag so there is no need to bind the short sides.

To start with, I sew the binding on the right side of the pocket, with raw edges matching.


Then, I fold the binding over, and pin it from the right side. It might be seem more natural to pin from the back, but the purpose of pinning from the front is so that when you are stitching, you will be able to remove the pins easily as the needle comes close to them.

You can see both the front and back sides of the pinning in this picture.


I then stitch very closely in the ditch in the crease between the front of the pocket and the binding.

In this picture I had stopped just before a pin to take the picture, but before I started sewing again, I removed the pin.

So there you have it. At the end of this step, we'll have binding on the two long sides of the two large outside pockets. You'll also need binding on all four sides of the 3 smaller pockets.

Tara's Favorite Bag / Purse

Okay, so, are we ready for more about my favorite bag/purse?

The last few days I've been working on getting my quilted fabric quilted. As I mentioned/showed earlier. I finally finished! See !?!?


I had several thread breakage problems, but mostly in the beginning and end, surprisely, the middle section went fairly smooth.

After quilting, I cut off three 6" width strips for my pockets. Two of them 6"x18" will be outer pockets, and one of the 6" strips will be cut into smaller pieces for the inside pockets.

So first we trim the edges.


After we have the edges of the 6" pieces trimmed, then we move on and trim the edges of the larger piece which should be 18"x22" (or there about) I fold this piece in half so that I can use the fold as one of my ruler guides, and then trim the edges neatly square.


And here we are with the nice and neatly trimmed pieces for the purse.


Out of the quilted fabric we have:
1 - 18" x 22" piece for the base of the purse (if this is longer, it's ok!)
2 - 6" x 18" pieces for the outside pockets
2 - 6" x 7" pieces for inside pockets
1 - 6" x 4" piece for an inside pocket.

And there you go - quilted fabric ready :)

New Beginnings

I'm going to be sharing with you a project that I'm working on. I'm going to be sharing the pattern with a yahoo group called One Stitch At A Time. They are a great group of ladies, and I really enjoy being part of their group. A lot of the time I just sit back and watch. For now, I'm going to be actively leading in this pattern.

The pattern is called "Tara's Favorite Purse" and it is just what it sounds like, the purse that I make for myself to use every day. I use it every day, I don't make one every day .. lol.

I've chosen my fabric:


And I basted the base (1/2 yard of quilted fabric is the main requirements, along with some extra for binding and handles. Don't forget an 18" zipper!)

Here are the steps I used in basting.

I prefer to baste using binder clips when I can. Masking tape can be very temperamental, and come undone when you least want it to. I use the binding clips on the edge of the table, and then use masking tape for the remaining sides.


After I get the backing laid out and slightly stretched (not too much, just a little bit.) I lay the batting on top and smooth it out, then cut it to be the same size as the backing. You can wait and cut it just a bit bigger then the top if you'd like, I trimmed this one before I put the top on. For this project I found a small piece of bamboo batting that I had leftover from a previous project.


I then lay the top on, smooth it out, and start pin basting.


On a smaller piece like this, I do not close the safety pins, because they are a pain to open while you are machine quilting. If it's a larger piece, you will want to close them, because the risk of them falling out before you get to an area is greater then the pain of opening them.

I haven't quilted in years (2 or 3) so I was a little intimidated, but it's like riding a bike, comes back to you. Must be that "muscle memory" they talk about. Anyway, I chose to do a meandering pattern for this. Although I may rethink that, as my thread keeps breaking! I loosened the tension, I changed needles, and it's still breaking. So, I am going to take a break and get back to it later this afternoon or even tomorrow. I may just decide to do a mixture of straight line and meander quilting. It's my purse, so it doesn't matter, and it'll be artistic, right? :)

Here's how far I got . . . .


Will you join us in making this purse?