Basic (zippered) tote bag tutorial

English version

 Here's the link for the magazine article, if you're interested:

Zde je odkaz na článek v PA, pokud se chcete podívat - holky to udělalay moc hezky:

Poisoned Alice 

1)

 What would the bag's owner wear in it?

Co by majitelka tote bagu asi nosila?

 The Three Musketeers (in newspaper), a magazine about painting, mori headband (handmade by me).

3 Mušketýři v novinovém papíře, časopis o malbě, mori čelenka (vyrobená mnou :) )

 Fabric detail:

Detail na látku:

2)

Design: Henry Miller

Lze koupit u Mráze

 It kinda lacks personality, the only thing the owner might wear is this La Blanche journal?

Nějak nemá osobnost, možná by majitelka mohla nosit toto album z La Blanche?

S láskou

Vita

English version

A tote bag with lining and a zipper

I’ve noticed that girls often wear tote bags in place of regular handbags and they carry valuable things like cell phones and wallets inside. So I thought that a zippered tote bag would be a convenient anti-theft measure.

As for length, I simply converted the cm into inches, I don’t know if you can buy zippers in such a size, so you might have to change the measurements, sorry.

Material:

80 x 50 cm (31.5 x 19.7 in) of pre-washed fabric

80 x 50 cm (31.5 x 19.7 in) of lining

Threads in the colors of both fabrics

Zipper 40 cm (15.7 in) long (an opened-end one is better, but you can use the closed-end one as well)

Scissors

Basting thread

Needle

Sewing machine, but you can sew it in hand as well, it’ll just take  a lot of time

Safety pin

Pins

Iron

Time:

3 hours

Instructions:

1) Cut 2 squares - 40 x 40 cm (15.7 x 15.7 in) - from both the fabric and the lining and cut 2 rectangles - 80 x 5 cm (31.5 x 2 in) from the fabric.

2) Add all decorations (see future tutorials for that) that are going to be on the outer side of the bag.

3) Sew all inner pockets (see future tutorials for that).

4) Put the pieces of lining so that right sides are facing each other. Sew 3 out of 4 sides together, but leave a little piece (10 cm/4 in) unsown in the middle side. You can cut the corners diagonally without cutting the seams.

5) Put the pieces of outer fabric so that right sides are facing each other. Sew 3 out of 4 sides together; you can cut the corners diagonally without cutting the seams.

 

6) Fold the long rectangles in halves (right side inside) with the axis being the longer side. Sew the longer sides together so that you get a tunnel. Use a safety pin to turn the tunnel inside out and iron the stripe.

 

7) Measure the same distance from both sides of the upper side (the unsown one) of the handbag piece. Pin the handles you just made on the right side of the bag so that the ends are facing upwards and the loop goes towards the bottom of the bag.

 

 

8) Baste the zipper around the upper sides. The teeth should face the bottom and the slider (the right side of the zipper) should face the right side of the fabric. If the zipper is too long, simply fold the ends.

9) Take out the pins (you secured the handles by basting the zipper) and insert the upper fabric part of the bag, with the handles and zipper sewn on, inside the lining. This will create a sandwich where you have the fabric (wrong side up) - the handles - the zipper (right side facing the right side of the fabric) - lining (the right side is facing the right side of the fabric). Baste again. Sew carefully on the machine. It might happen that you won’t be able to sew through the corners because the slider won’t fit under the foot or the foot might slide a bit. In such a case, change the foot for a zipper-friendly foot or sew it in hand or simply keep the end a bit messy - it won’t come off and unless you’re selling it, it’s OK for it not to be perfect if you don’t have the patience. After finishing, turn the bag inside out and check everything’s OK. Turn back and repair everything that was problematic.

 

 

10) Take out the basting and turn inside out again.

11) Close the opening in the lining - just iron the two pieces together and sew it closed, staying close to the edge of the fold.

12) Iron the bag.

Yours truly

Vita