The Sew and Tell Project

Welcome to The Sew and Tell Project!

The second treat I have for you is a mini-tutorial on the canvas purse I made for my Middle Miss. You may remember during Project Run and Play, I designed a small foldable, two-pocket purse to hold gel pens and a sketchbook. Today, I am including the steps I followed to make this purse! In honor of the natural feel of the Blithe Fabrics line, and my original Project Run and Play design, I have named my creation “The Wanderer Tote.” I hope this inspires you to try the soft and strong Art Gallery Fabrics canvas to make your own bag for yourself or for your tween!

Before I go into my tutorial, I want to say a sincere thank you to Katarina Roccella for creating such beautiful fabric lines to work with and to Art Gallery Fabrics for providing me with the fabric to create this look and the following tutorial.

Please make sure you follow us at @sewandtellproject to stay up-to-date with what the Sew and Tell team is always working on!

SUPPLIES:

2 rectangles of Art Gallery Fabrics Canvas (mine were 10″ x 24″) (finished size will be folded in half lengthwise minus seam allowance – adjust according to desired finished size)

2 rectangles of Art Gallery Fabrics Premium cotton for lining (same size as your canvas)

Coordinating thread for piecing and topstitching.

1 small amount of coordinating Art Gallery Fabrics premium cotton for contrast pocket.  2 pocket pieces. I fussy cut my phone pocket to be 5″ x 6″ and my pen/scissor pocket to be 8″ x 6″

2 D-rings (I used 1″ Dritz D-Rings)

1 adjustable purse strap (or webbing and buckle slider to make one)

2 suede scraps (mine were 3″ x 1″ to go through the 1″ D-rings)

2 magnetic snap sets (I strongly recommend these by Dritz)

1 package of twill tape that coordinates either with your zipper tape or your lining

2 9″ purse or all-purpose zippers (adjust if you are making your bag smaller or larger)

fusible fleece cut 1″ narrower and shorter than your canvas pieces.

1 disappearing ink pen. I use Frixion pens.

I used a 1/2″ seam allowance and regular straight stitch throughout this tutorial unless otherwise noted. 

For our tote, we are basically going to do THREE steps: 1) sew the outer part of your bag including patch pockets and install purse hardware 2) create your zippered lining using this tutorial 3) attaching zippered lining to your outer bag.

Part One:

Make your Bag Outer

Apply fusible fleece to one of your canvas pieces. After applying fusible interfacing, fold both canvas pieces in half widthwise and press well. Take care during the rest of the steps of the tutorial to not iron out your crease. This will be your stitch line in the last step of the tutorial.

Make your pockets. For both my square and rectangle pocket pieces, I sewed them right sides together leaving a small opening on the bottom. I clipped corners and then turned them right side out and then topstitched along top of pocket piece only. Do not worry about closing bottom opening since that will be sewn shut when you attach it to your canvas pieces.

Choose one side of canvas to be the part of your bag that will be visible when the bag is snapped shut and worn. I chose to place my detail pocket (look at that lovely buck!) for my phone to be visible when the bag is worn.

Sew pocket along side and bottom edges taking care to backstitch at top openings to avoid stress on the seam.

Next we will add our suede tabs and hardware.

Loop your suede through the D-Ring. Use a ruler to slide your suede pieces at least 1″ from the edge of your canvas. You do not want either your D-Ring or suede to get caught in the seam allowance when you sew the sides together. You will then pin or clip the other suede/D-ring to the OPPOSITE corner on the same piece of canvas.  When the bag is finished, you will fold it up and closed so the straps need to connect on opposite corners.

Using 3/8″ seam allowance, slowly and carefully sew your suede pieces to your canvas. Mea Culpa: I did NOT use a leather needle. I hand-cranked my wheel to start and sewed at a very SLOW speed and backstitched.

The outer part of your canvas bag is done. Now it is time to work on the interior part of your bag. Here is a picture to let you know what we are heading toward with our bag!

Take your second canvas piece. It is time to mark and install your metal snaps. I used a ruler and installed my snaps roughly 2″ down and 2″ in from each corner.

For this step, I actually recommend you use a NON-ERASABLE pen since your snap will cover it AND you are going to apply a small square of interfacing to each corner that you mark (and the heat from the iron might erase your markings). Mark ALL four corners.

Use your iron to apply your interfacing scraps. Then use the back of your metal snap to MARK where you will cut your slits for the prongs. Follow the package instructions on your metal snaps to install all four snaps. I install both snaps on one edge, and then double check my markings before installing the opposite side.

If you are adding a pocket to stash goodies between the zippered pockets of your folded bag, now is the time to pin and sew your second pocket as you did the patch pocket on the outer. I decided I wanted a larger slot to hold a pair of craft scissors, and then narrower pockets for the gel pens! I marked my pocket accordingly with an erasable pen,

The OUTER of my bag is complete with pockets and hardware. Now I place these two pieces right sides together and sew up the long edges on both sides leaving both the top and the bottom open.

PART TWO:

Make your zippered lining.

Note: There are a lot of ways to make a zippered lining. This is the tutorial I used during Project Run and Play and I am linking here again as it worked very well for this design. Feel free to substitute with any zippered lining method you are comfortable with. The nice thing about this butterfly style bag, is until the center seam is sewn, both the top and the bottom can be unzipped so you can turn your bag inside out for a clean finish. 

I used this tutorial to create my zippered lining. I then sewed my lining down the long seams, right sides together and pinked my seam allowance.

Part Three: Attach your zippered lining to your outer canvas bag.  You will repeat this step on both ends of your bag.

I turned my outer bag in approx 1/2″ inch and pressed to conceal the raw edges. I pinned the zippered lining into my bag, and then topstitched along the edge all around taking care to sew slowly where my suede hardware is attached. Repeat for the other end of your bag.

Now it is time to turn this bag into TWO separate zippered pouches. I carefully smoothed out all the layers of canvas and lining, and used my ruler to trace my erasable pen along the seam, correcting to square it up as necessary. I then carefully stitched along that mark, backstitching at both the beginning and then end. Iron away your Frixion markings!

Attach your purse handle to your suede hardware. And clip your threads.

My finished bag is just perfect for holding a project notebook. The slots hold a small pair of blunt edge scissors, and an assortment of colorful pens. 

The strong magnetic metal snaps have no trouble keeping the bag folded tightly closed to be worn over the shoulder for wandering around, and can be easily plopped open if you want to access your craft supplies. For this bag, since I intended to keep it for myself (didn’t happen – daughter took it instantly), I cut back on the pen slots. However, you can customize this design to the serious artist or coloring aficionado and include multiple pen/crayon pockets, or none at all.

Thank you for following along with my tutorial. I have only sewn one purse pattern in my life, so if there is any confusion or a step that needs more clarity, please let me know and I am happy to help!