Seams And Scissors

Sewing for Beginners: DIY Sewing Bag Tutorial

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If you’re new to sewing, finding sewing projects for beginners can be a very daunting task. Part of you will probably want to make something really cool (which looks complicated), and the other part of you just want to make a simple pin cushion. When you’re staring out, I think it’s important to consider the fabric being used in a sewing project, and one of my favorite fabrics has always been felt.

Felt is a nice fabric to start out with because it doesn’t fray, it comes in a variety of colors, and it is very inexpensive. The project I’ll be showing you today is a simple felt bag, which looks complicated, but actually took no time to make.

Supplies:

  • 3 Pieces of Felt (two pieces should be the same pattern)
  • Purse Handles
  • Thread
  • Embroidery Thread
  • Needle
  • Scissors
  • Trim + Buttons (optional)
  • Fabric Glue (optional)
  • Sew Machine (optional)

Before Getting Started…

For this project, I opted to sew everything by hand, but you don’t have to. If you feel more comfortable using your sewing machine, by all means, sew away. The size of this bag (when completed) will be 9 x 12 inches, which is the standard size of a piece of felt. If you want to make your bag smaller, you can adjust the measurements, and use this DIY as a guide while sewing.

Step 1

Take your piece of felt that is a different pattern from your other two pieces, and cut out a rectangle. The rectangle you cut can be any size, but I ended up cutting out a rectangle that measured 7.5 x 6 inches.

 Step 2

Pin your rectangle down to one of your pieces of felt and sew around all three sides of the rectangle. When you are done, you should have a nice pocket for your bag.

Step 3

Now take your piece of felt with the pocket and your other piece of felt, and pin the “right” sides together. Then sew around all three sides of your bag.

Step 4

Flip your bag right side out and grab your purse handles. Place them where you want them to be on your bag and begin sewing.  I sewed my purse handles on using embroidery thread instead of normal thread for a stronger stitch.  

Step 5

Using your fabric glue, apply a thin line of glue around the edges of your pocket. Once that is done, take your trim and press it into the glue. When you’re trim dries, you can then glue a button in the middle to cover up where the edges of your trim meet. This step is completely optional, but I think it adds a nice little touch to the front of the bag.

 

Once you’re done decorating your bag, then you’re ready to start using it! Personally, I think I’ll use this bag for a sewing/yarn bag, but you could these bags for a multitude of things. Now see how easy that was to make!

 

If you made this bag, what would you use it for? Let us know below in the comments!

 

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