Tutorial: Jordy Bag - Square Bottomed Lined Bag

[pikegami]

Thanks Miss Mom!
I love the piping in your bag. I want to try making a messenger bag/pouch style with piping.
I did use some stitch witchery stuff when I pressed the strap in on both sides. Mostly I was trying to keep it flat for when I folded it in half again, but it also did a good job of stiffening it up.

I wasn't so sure I understood the "pinching the corners" concept before I started, but once I had it there in my hands in 3-d it made sense.
 
Another bag I want to to try making is a tote bag with webbing like the one here. http://www.make-it-easy.com/opentot2.html

[Lia]

Thanks jordy, I used this for one of my vinyl bags, and it worked well! I haven't put on a strap yet, I am waiting to buy some webbing, or whatever that seatbelt stuff is called.

[strangey]

Jordy, i have been lurking for quite a while, but decided to start posting and i want to tell you THANK YOU!! i used your tutorial as a guideline and have been making purses like a maniac! i was intrigued when i saw your bag on here earlier, then the tutorial was so helpful, i couldn't believe it!

thanks again.

and Lia, i love your vinyl purse! i tried vinyl but it's so slippery it drove me crazy. so i'm sticking with cottons and using interfacing to make it stiffer. i also had success with corduroy.

[miss_mom]

Lia, those are great looking! Some cool D-rings and some webbing and they will be totally stylin'! How was the vinyl to work with? I've only sewn with vinyl once - it was for a Halloween costume for my son, and I remember fighting with it a bit.

pikegami, I made the piping by with cotton cording as the inside - it's really cheap, like $.29/yd. I've used shoelaces etc. but the round stuff really does look the best. Cut the material you are going to use on the bias (angle) - it will bunch less and be easier to make fit into corners etc, because it will have a little give in it. To sew strips of the fabric together, put the ends of the 2 pieces right sides together at a 90 degree angle to each other, and sew the overlapping part from upper left corner to lower right corner. When you flip the vertical piece backup, you'll have a nice neat piece.  Here's a lame drawing that might help make it clear.



When you do it this way, it makes a neater, cleaner, easier to work with seam. When covering the cording, just use a zipper foot or anything that allows you to get closer to the cording than with the regular foot, and really sew it in there tight. If you don't have a zipper foot, you can get a generic foot at any fabric store, like this one -

they cost about $2.50, and fit any standard sewing machine.

Once you learn to make the piping right, you'll want to do it on everything!

[Lia]

Thanks miss mom and strangey!

I have heard a lot of bad things about sewing with vinyl, and its stickyness. I was mainly sewing on the back side, which had a thin knit sort of layer on it, and it was ok.
And even when I did any top stiching, it didn't stick at all! I wasn't sure what anyone was talking about, because I never encountered any of those problems.

The one problem I did have, and it frustrated me IMMENSLY, was tension! I used a heavy duty upolstry thread, as recommend to me at the fabric store, and my tension was horrible, and if i would back stitch it would just sew this huge mess of knots and i was so upset! Luckily, it was all hidden with the lining, but I couldn't get the tension right at all! I even had two expert sewers, my aunt and her sister helping me figure it out!

[pikegami]

miss mom thank you!!!! That is awesome.
Now I definitely have to go try to use some piping.
(your drawing is not lame! it makes perfect sense.)

[thejordy]

miss_mom awesome bag! i bought a whole boatload of piping and im really excited to try it.

i think the bigger the bag,the weirder it is to make it look nice without having separate sides.. it doesnt hold its shape as well.

i made a couple lunch bags with flaps and such... but they were all flat on the top... i think it would look better more rectangular.

and i wanna sew with vinyl! i bought some, just havent gotten around to using it.

xo

[hijole]

Thank you so much for this tutorial!

I made this bag this morning.  Your instructions were great -- they made the project really easy.

Sorry it's so linty -- the batting from the quilted fabric got everywhere.  That'll teach me to use reclaimed batting.



I added a button and loop for the closure.



My product tester loved it!

[whereismymind]

Jordy, I am yet another person who needs to say thank you for the tutorial!

I had a go at making a square bottomed bag and I'm quite pleased with the results. I even used interfacing for the first time!

http://members.lycos.co.uk/gillygilly/lj/040122bag.jpg

[crazyferret]

I also used the tutorial. Thanks a lot Jordy!!! You're my hero!

http://www.geocities.com/evak142/crafts/lesliespurse.jpg
This one is for my niece.
http://www.geocities.com/evak142/crafts/greenpurse.jpg
This is the purse that I talked about in another post. I made it too wide, cause i like long/wide purses and then it would like cave in right in the middle. I put cardboard in the bottom and put the velcro inside for the closure, cause the button closure wasn't enough. I think it worked. Although I still have to test it with all my stuff inside.
http://www.geocities.com/evak142/crafts/lemonpurse2.jpg

 
Katy