Sew Unbelievable!

Really? A sewing tutorial blog post from me?

A year ago, no one could have convinced me that I would ever blog a sewing tutorial. But I am proud to say that I've been stretched and inspired to sew. Look what I made! And not just one, but eight of them!



These beautiful bags were made for my small group. This year as we kicked off our fall Mothering Matters bible study, I wanted to give the girls each a bag for their book, bible, etc. They loved them. And was Patrick ever proud of me. So, if you want to know how to make them, I tried to organize pictures as a tutorial. Please note: I am a not a sewer, so you will not get a professional tutorial. :)

Materials Needed:

• Two Fat Quarters (they come pre-cut at most fabric stores 18 x 22, or you can just purchase 1/2 yard of your favorite fabric and cut it in half)
• Slightly less than a fat quarter iron-on interfacing

1. Fold over the fabric lengthwise, and cut the tote out 15 inches leaving 3 inches for the tote handles.

2. Pick your outside print and center the interfacing and iron it on to the wrong side of the fabric.


3. With right sides together, sew around the edges of the fabric. Leave about the center third of one of the long sides unsewn to allow you to turn right side out. Trim the corners. Turn right side out, pushing out corners. Iron seams flat. Topstitch at 1/4″ around the entire outside of the rectangle.


4. Cut the 3" left over strip in half to make two tote handles. Iron on interfacing on both. Fold over to make each handle 1" in width and sew 1/8" down both sides.


5. Measure 3" from each side of your tote and sew the handles on the wrong side. I sewed the stitch like a square with a X through it (sorry, told you I don't know the professional sew lingo).


6. With right sides (outside fabric) together, fold in half width-wise. Sew the two ends together at 1/2 inch seams.


7. Fold in the outside edges that you just sewed, towards the center, so that the seam is laying along the center bottom of the pouch.


8. To give the tote some inside space, sew across the corner of the bag, about 1.5″ in from the point, on both ends.


9. Turn the whole thing inside out and iron again to make it flat. Of course, I forgot to take a final picture of this print (probably because I was too excited!), but here's another bag to show you the final product.


Believe me, it was sew unbelievably easy and the nice thing about pre-cut fat quarters is you increase your ability to sew straight because the fabric is cut perfect. I'm all about easy! Considering that I never sewed anything before (by the way, thank you Mom Ring for my sewing machine as a birthday gift), I want to inspire you as I've made some ladies very happy with their new beautiful bags! Now, after doing eight in a row, I need to find the energy to do one for myself. Or maybe you....