DIY: Oil Cloth Bag / Purse Video Lecture | Sewing: A Tutorial for Beginners - Fashion Designing

hello I'm Anika from a torso and welcome
to our oil canvas purse tutorial this is
a super quick and easy tutorial that
should take you around 30 minutes to
make one of these fabulous little purses
you can use them as wash bags as pencil
cases or even as purses to put your
money in so we're going to be showing
you how to make these lined or unlined
and that's really up to you obviously it
will take a little bit longer to make a
lined version and we've got three
different sizes that you can work from
so let's get started start by collecting
the supplies and equipment that you're
going to need for the project you will
need some fabric for the exterior of
your pouch or the bag and you will need
some fabric for the inside we've chosen
to work with an oil canvas for this
project because this fabric doesn't fray
so it's really is easy to use unlined
for the lining we decided to work with a
waterproof lining but again this is
completely up to you if you're working
with a lightweight fabric I would
recommend purchasing some interfacing
too because you may need some
interfacing to create the nice shape
that we've got here you will also need a
zip and there's three different sizes
that we have created and I'll put a link
to the tutorial that talks about the
three different sizes and the amount of
fabric that you'll need to cut out in
the description box below in terms of
actually sewing and the equipment and
materials that you'll need to create
these you're going to depower scissors a
ruler a pen removable pen of some
description this pen comes off with
water but chalk or a pencil would do now
pinning oil canvas can be difficult if
you're working with another fabric pins
will be fine but for oil canvas you
might want to work with Bulldog clips or
binder clips instead or a craft adhesive
notices of repositionable adhesive so it
is important that it's repositionable
but this can really help and we'll show
you where we use these during the
process so it collects up your supplies
and then drew me back here so we can
talk about the size of the bag that
you're going to need to cut out let's
start by cutting out the amount of
fabric that you're going to need to
create your little bag now we have
created three different sizes that
you're welcome to work on there is a
pouch
a clutch rag and a pencil case the link
to these sizes and the side zip that
you'll need for these bags will be on
our blog post and the link to that will
be in the description box below now join
this tutorial I'm going to be making the
clutch size bag so we're going to be
working with a zip that measures 8
inches 20 centimeters and if you haven't
bought a new zip and you want to measure
the zip you're going to be measuring the
metal so from the metal pull to the
metal zip stopper at the end there now
you will need to purchase a 8 inch 20
centimeter zip for the size bag that
we're creating then you will need to
choose the fabric that you're working
from and you need to cut out ten and a
quarter inches in width seven and a
quarter inches in length and you'll need
to cut out two of these in your exterior
fabric and if you choose to do some
lining you will need to in the lining as
well so in the metric system that is 24
point six centimeters in width 18 point
five centimeters in length I would
measure these and draw your markings on
the wrong side of your fabric and then
cut them out using a pair of scissors if
you're working with a print or pattern
on your fabric like we are then you will
need to think about what pattern you
want where on your little bag the other
thing that you're going to need to cut
out are two of the little tabs for the
end of the zip now these measure 1.5
inches square four centimetres square
and you need them in your exterior
fabric and you will need two of them I
would recommend lining your bag if
you're not working with an oil canvas or
a fabric that doesn't fray old canvas is
perfect if you don't want to line it
because obviously it doesn't fray
whereas if you're just using a cotton
you may find that it will fray over time
so you may want to put a little lining
in and I'm going to show you how to do
both methods in this tutorial so cuts
out all of the pieces that you will need
and drummy back here
we've decided that we would like the
tabs on the end of the zip to measure
half an inch or one centimeter therefore
you will need to start by measuring from
the end of the zip metal zip stopper
here doesn't matter whether you're
working with a plastic or metal zip the
same applies you measure from the end of
the zip stopper 1/2 an inch or 1
centimeter using your ruler and you can
mark that with a pen or piece of chalk
and simply cut that off and you can see
that I've already done that here now you
will do the same on the other end so
from the end of the metal zipper pull
here you're going to measure the zipper
tape half an inch one centimeter and cut
that off and you can see I've cut the
one side off and I will cut the other
side off no just like so now we're going
to attach the zipper tab onto the end of
the zip what you will need to do is fold
under two opposite edges a 1/4 of an
inch or five millimeters if you're
working with a fabric that you can iron
I would recommend that you iron this
however you do not want to iron the oil
canvas you then want to fold it in half
again so that the width of the tab is
half an inch or one centimeter and again
with the oil come as you really just
really want to try and position it and
press it in place whereas if you've got
a fabric you can iron I would recommend
that you iron this you're then going to
position the end of your zipper tape
inside your little fold of fabric just
like so and you want to make sure here
that you don't pull the fabric over the
end of the zipper stopper the metal bit
here this isn't so bad with a plastic
zip but with a metal zip you won't be
able to sew over it so you really need
to make sure that the fabric finishes
just to the end of your metal stopper
now if you're doing this with fabric I
would recommend you pin this in place
and try and pin about 1/8 300 meters
from the folded edge here
if you're working with an oil canvas you
will find probably the easiest method is
to use a bulldog clip one or two Bulldog
clips to hold that on ready to sew once
you fold it up your zipper tab you're
going to want to put the zipper tape
into the middle of the fabric again and
sandwiching all that in there and you're
going to want to do that for both sides
trying to get the top bit of the zip as
close together as possible now again you
can use the Bulldog clips to hold this
in place as well if you're working with
oil canvas if you're working with fabric
I would recommend using two pins one for
each side of the zipper if you do
struggle doing this and if you struggle
during the whole process using the
Bulldog clips there is another method
that you can use and that is to work
with a craft adhesive and you want to
work with a repositionable craft
adhesive ideally now to work with the
craft adhesive you're going to want to
position your zipper tab wrong side
facing up with your two quarter inch or
five millimeter folded edges fold it in
now you will want to protect your table
with something a scrap piece of paper or
newspaper and you also want to hold this
using something that you don't mind
getting sticky so this is just not
pencil that doesn't work but that a
little bit of word a cocktail stick
anything because otherwise once this
covers your fingers you'll find that
you'll have to keep washing your hands
and they stick to everything so you want
to shake your glue first and you want to
spray it and you will leave it to dry
and despoil the instructions on your
glue just make sure that it is
repositionable because that means that
you can move it if you put it in the
wrong place
now once the glue is tacky you'll find
that you can actually position your
zipper tape onto your zipper tab really
easily because it will just stick to
each other and then we should be able to
turn this under and have everything
sitting in the right place you just need
to make sure that you don't ever get any
of the glue on the right side because it
can be a pain to remove
it just doesn't look very nice we will
still be sewing over this but it just
means that it's going to really hold
everything in place for you rather than
struggling with the Bulldog clips
because the problem with oil canvas is
that if you pin it you will leave a hole
in the fabric so we really want to stay
away from pins and use the adhesive or
the Bulldog clips instead now I'm going
to show you how to shorten a zip I would
only recommend doing this with the
plastic zips the metal zips won't be
good because you won't be able to sew
over them when attaching the little
zipper tab now you will find that the
three bags that we have given you have
set size zips and you will need to
either purchase a zip in that size or
cut one down like we're going to show
you how to do now this is because the
bag is actually created based on the
size of the zip if you want to create
your own size bag we will pop a link to
the blog post on how to do that in the
description box below
the sizes for the zips and the three
different bags will also be on a blog
post in the description box below so how
do you firstly measure the zip now we're
going to measure the zip and you need to
measure from the zipper pull up here the
teeth of the zip until you get to the
zip stopper and that will show you the
lengths of the zip now if you wish to
shorten the zip you will need to know
the size that you're shortening it to so
for this zip I want shorten it to 10
inches which is 25 centimeters however
you must not just go and cut off your
zip at 10 inches because remember that
you have got a little bit of zipper tape
at the start and at the end of your zip
if you were to just go and cut it off
you wouldn't have room to be able to
attach your zipper tab and for it to be
the correct size so you need to measure
from the top of the zipper pull here
along the teeth the 10 inches 25
centimeters and then you need to add
half an inch if you're working with
inches one centimeter if you're working
in metric and you would draw a little
line
not so that you've got enough fabric to
be able to wrap the little zipper tab
around in a second
simply cuts along your marking using a
sharp pair of scissors once you've done
that you're ready to treat your zip as
normal
your little tab will be as we created
before but we'll be wrapping around the
end of the zip rather than the zipper
tape that sits at the end past the zip
stopper and again I reiterate do not
unzip your zip until it's all positioned
together so we're going to attach this
just as you did before hold it on with
Bulldog clips or with some root
repositionable adhesive and join me at
the sewing machine now it's time to sew
the tab on to the end of the zip now I
would recommend using a zipper foot for
this however you may find that it works
ok with a normal foot on your sewing
machine we're going to be stitching in a
straight line with a stitch length of
2.5 millimeters we're going to do it
backwards and forwards to start if you
find your machine struggles with this
it's not a problem you can just continue
sewing in a straight line and tie off
your threads at the end and at the start
of the stitching afterwards I'm going to
plan to sew one eight three millimeters
away from the folded edge here and
backwards and forwards when I reach the
end perfect and I'd like you to do that
for both ends of the zip now
to attach the zip into the bag now
firstly I'm going to show you how to put
this on if you had a lining that you
were joining in and then I'll also talk
to you if you weren't having a lining
going in so we're going to be doing the
first method with a lining you're going
to lay your lining down on the table
with the right side facing up now I'm
using a waterproof lining and so it's
the kind of sticky side that's facing up
for me I'm going to take my zip with the
zip facing up and one thing to point out
here is that if you think your tabs
aren't that neat please remember you're
actually only going to see about that
much of the tab so really it's nothing
to worry about now we're going to
position the zip and you want to
position the top edge over the zipper
tape here along the top edge of your
fabric so the tabs will probably sit
over that and that's absolutely fine you
want to make sure that the zip including
the tabs is really in the center of your
piece of fabric now if you want to
understand how we made these bags you
all how we design the pattern for these
bags you can actually measure in half an
inch and 1/8 so it's going to be 5/8
from either ends and put a mark and that
will be where the end of the zipper tab
should sit if you're working in metric
it will be one centimeter and three
millimeters so 1.3 centimeters in from
either edge and you can put a little
mark with a removable pen and that will
be the ends of where the zip sitting the
top of the zip will be sitting along the
line here and then you're going to take
your fabric that's going to be on the
right side and position that face down
sandwiching it all together the edges of
everything's the edge of the zipper tape
and the edge of both layers of fabric
should be flush now I would recommend
using Bulldog clips to clip this
together and we're going to be sewing
along this edge here the sides of both
layers of fabric should match one thing
to point out is that if you're working
with a pattern you want to make sure
that you're putting a pattern
the right way up now we're going to be
sewing a long edge close to the zip so
when we're finished our pattern is going
to look like that which is correct so
it's coming down from the zip so do
think about this and check that you're
happy with the way that your cussin is
going to sit and I position a few
Bulldog Clips along the top edge ready
to hold it all together
so let's look at what you would do if
you did not have a lining if you want to
make these with outer lining you would
simply exempt the lining so we're going
to position our zip with the zipper pull
facing up and we're going to lay our
fabric down right side onto the zipper
with this edge of the fabric and the
edge of the zipper pull matching up
again the tabs might extend this please
ignore that you do want to make sure
that the zip in the tabs is in the
center of the fabric the same distance
from either end again and I would again
measure this we're working with 5/8 from
either side with the imperial system and
1.3 centimeters with the metric system
and again we would hold this in place
with some Bulldog clips if you're
working with a cotton or a fabric that
you can pin through obviously you're
more than welcome to pin in through the
fabric and the zipper tape so when we're
putting this through the machine we're
going to have the exterior fabric facing
up even though it's the wrong side of
your exterior fabric that is closest to
us so that if I peel this back your
zipper pull is facing up if you were to
sew it the other way with the zipper
pull facing down you would find that the
machine would have a few problems with
that please also think about the way
that you want your fabric to sit again
if you've got a print or a pattern you
need to think about how you want it to
be finished so when I've sewn this it's
going to sit like that and therefore my
pattern is in the correct way now we're
going to be throwing at the zip and the
layers of fabric together the same rules
apply
working with or without lining we're
going to be serving this with the
exterior fabric the wrong side of the
exterior fabric facing up and I'm going
to be using a zipper foot I've moved my
needle to the far left so that it is as
close to the edge of the zipper foot as
possible and this will allow me to sew
as close to the zipper teeth as possible
I'm going to be running the edge of the
foot along the edge of my teeth and you
should be able to feel them when you
push your finger into the fabric start
with the backwards and forward stitch
and we're going to sew down this as I
said I'm planning on running the edge of
my foot against the edge of my zipper
teeth obviously I will remove my Bulldog
clips as I go now one thing you will
need to do is you can see my zipper pull
I started with my zipper undone ever so
slightly as I near this I am NOT going
to go to sew past my zipper Pole so I'm
going to put my needle down by turning
the hand wheel lift up my foot and I
should be able to get my hands in
between the fabrics and actually do my
zipper up that can be a little bit
tricky but just give it a little wiggle
and it will go up now I'm going to
continue sewing my needless stay down
and I'm going to continue down the edge
running the edge of the zipper foot
against the edge of my zipper teeth and
I'll do that all the way down the length
of my zip until I get to the end and I
will back stitch at the end now we're
going to be stitching 1/8 3 millimeters
away from the edge of your exterior
fabric you do not want your lining
fabric to creep up pass the zip which it
will easily do so as we're sewing this
we need to make sure that we're pulling
these two layers really nice and taut
now I have held them in place ever so
slightly with a bulldog clipper either
end if you're working with a fabric EU
could pin I would recommend pulling both
of the layers and positioning some pins
and about here to hold everything
together
but we're just going to have to be
cautious as we put this through the
sewing machine if you haven't got a
lining do not worry about this because
you're only going to be focusing on your
exterior fabric so join me back at the
sewing machine now I want a top stitch
or edge stitch along the exterior side
of the fabric if you're working with a
lining you'll be catching the lining at
this point too
I'm still going to be using my zipper
foot and I've actually moved my needle
again slightly because I want my needle
to be about 1/8 3 millimeters away from
the edge of your fabric here so you
should be able to be move the needle and
then get the look that you want and I'm
still lining up my fabric with the edge
of my foot here and my needle is going
to be stitching that 183 millimeters in
now I have got to put my fabrics through
the machine in a sort of awkward way
it's going through the sort of nook of
the machine and that's just because I
can't actually move my needle as well
when I use the right side of my zipper
foot your machine may be different ok
I'm going to start by going backwards
and forwards and then I'm going to sew
along here you may find that you need to
put your needle down unzip your zip to
get past the zipper pull you may not and
the key here as I mentioned a minute ago
is that you really want to make sure
that you're going to keep pulling your
two layers of fabric so that you don't
get any slip and you're going to sew all
the way along your length of fabric and
backstitch at the other end now I'm
going to show you how to pin and sew the
second side of the zip with the first
side just trim your threads and you're
ready to go for the second side we're
going to start by looking at having a
lining and then talk about if you don't
have a lining again so working with the
lining you want the exactly the same as
the last time you've got the right side
of your lining facing up I've measured
in where my zips should be sitting 5/8
in imperial 1.3 centimeters working in
metric and I'm going to position my zip
with the end of the zipper tabs in that
position the edge of my zipper tape is
going to sit with the edge of the lining
fabric and you may find that the tabs
extend slightly that's not a problem and
we're going to position that like so
then I'm going to take my fabric again
and this is the exterior fabric and that
is going to sit down on top of all of
the layers the edge of the fabric in
line with the edge of the zipper tape
and the lining and again the edges of
everything should be sitting flush here
I would again recommend that you use
Bulldog Clips unless you can pin your
fabric and then you would pin through
this edge here and again think about the
way that you want your pattern to be you
don't want to do the second side and
find that you accidentally sewed your
pattern the wrong way so just think
about once this is sewn how will it look
it's going to look like so therefore my
pattern or the burbs on my pattern
sitting in the correct direction
obviously if you're not working with a
pattern this won't matter if you are not
working with lining you're simply going
to lay your zip with the previous bit of
fabric attached down again the fabric
should be facing right side up zipper
pull should be on top your second piece
of exterior fabric will go right side
facing down on top of everything with
the edge of the zipper tape and the edge
of your fabric lining up the zipper tabs
may extend and that's not a problem you
will need to measure in from the edge of
your fabric the 5/8 if you're working
with imperial 1.3 centimeters if you're
working with metric and that will just
know where the end of your zipper tabs
should set and again I would work with
Bulldog clips to hold everything in
place if you're working with oil canvas
if you're working on another fabric you
might get away with pinning that's not a
problem
complete this and then on the sewing
machine I would like you to sew this
like we did for the first side
close to the zipper teeth as possible
you're then going to pull everything
back and complete the top stitching or
edge stitching if you're working with a
lining be sure that you've pulled that
taut so that you don't get it in the way
once you have sewn the zip on both sides
and you've done your edge stitching on
top stitching we're ready to sew the bag
together now firstly I'm going to go
through with you how you would do this
if you are lining something and then we
would look at how to do it without a
lining so if you're working with a
lining you want your two exterior
fabrics to go right side together to one
side and your two lining fabrics to go
right side together to the other side
now when you do this the most important
thing when working with the lining is
we're going to be sewing the side seams
from the lining down onto the main
fabric sew the lining down onto the main
fabric on both sides so I would
recommend using some Bulldog clips to
hold your fabric together and we're
going to be sewing this with a half inch
seam allowance or a one centimeter seam
allowance and I would pin your fabric
together now you want to make sure at
the end of the zip here that both layers
of exterior fabric really sit neatly on
top of one another and that the seam
allowances go towards the exterior
fabric and I would place a Bulldog clip
to hold that together there for the
second side this side will be easy to
sew from the lining down to the second
side you're going to flip everything
over so that you can again sew from the
lining down with a 1/2 inch 1 centimeter
seam allowance matching up your exterior
fabric seams here and making sure that
the seam allowances go towards the
exterior fabric now we have to flip it
over so that you can easily put this
through the machine
the bulk of the fabric should be on the
left when you're sewing and then you can
easily so then using your guide from the
lining down to the exterior fabric so
pin both sides if you're working with
fabric
or if you're working with your oil
canvas or something more difficult that
you can't pin through use your binder
clips so from the lining towards the
exterior fabric using a 1/2 inch 1
centimeter seam allowance I'm using the
zipper foot because it will probably be
easier to get close to your end of the
zipper up here and obviously take out
your Bulldog clips as you go if you're
working with those or you can use pins
if you can pin through your fabric you
want to make sure that all the seam
allowances go towards the exterior
fabric as you go over this point and you
want to backstitch at the start and the
end of the sewing and you will need to
complete this for both sides of the bag
if you're working with the lining sewing
on both sides from the lining towards
the exterior fabric once you've sewn
both of your side seams of your bag from
the lining to the exterior fabric you
will need to trim your threads then we
need to sew up the bottom edge of both
the lining and the exterior fabric now
an important thing to note here is that
we want to sew up the bottom edge of the
lining but we do need to leave a gap if
you're working with the lining so that
we can turn it around now I just put a
little mark with a removable pen here
we're going to sew from the end to this
mark here leaving a gap in the middle
and from here to the end here so we'll
be sewing both of these sections and
leaving the gap in between the middle
section because this will be neater when
we turn it around I'm holding together
my fabric with the Bulldog clips but
again if you're working with a fabric
that you can pin you're welcome to pin
this and we're going to be sewing with
the 1/2 an inch or 1 centimeter seam
allowance we're also going to be sewing
along the bottom edge of the exterior
fabric and we won't be leaving a gap
here we're going to be sewing along the
bottom edge using a 1/2 inch or 1
centimeter seam allowance one very
important thing to point out here is
that you need to make sure that your zip
inside is now open so
open the zip if you do not do this step
you will not be able to turn your back
around afterwards so open the zip pin or
use Bulldog clips to hold your fabric
together at both the exterior fabric and
lining and join me at the same machine
let's start by sewing along the bottom
edge of your fabric you're going to go
backwards and forwards to start and to
finish and when you do backwards and
forwards you need to make sure that you
actually stitch over your previous row
of stitching that's coming down here
with the backwards and forward stitch
because we are going to be trimming the
corners off later and we want to make
sure that this area is secure so that
your corners don't end up coming undone
we're then going to sew using a 1/2 inch
or 1 centimeter seam allowance along the
hole of the bottom edge going backwards
and forwards over that theme when we get
to the opposite end for the lining
you're going to do exactly the same
we're going to be going backwards and
forwards making sure that we do sew over
your stitching line that's coming down
here to make sure that we hold that
corner nice and securely and we're going
to be sewing this at again 1/2 inch or 1
centimeter seam allowance when you reach
your marking to leave the hole you're
going to go backwards and forwards again
about three stitches forwards and then
backwards and then we can stop there and
we're going to start again at the next
marking so that we've left a gap in the
middle of the bottom of the lining and
we're going to go forwards and backwards
here again about three stitches and then
continue sewing the half an inch or 1
centimeter seam allowance all the way
until we get to the end and when we pass
the stitching here we're going to be
going backwards and forwards again to
seal off the corner once you've sewn in
on the bottom of the lining and the
bottom of your exterior fabric you're
going to trim any of the threads now we
need to do a little bit of trimming
before we turn this around to the right
side the first thing that you'll need to
cut off are the end of your zipper tabs
as they would probably be poking out of
your fabric so we can simply cut those
off with a pair of scissors the other
thing you want to cut off are the
corners now the corners you want to cut
off so that you're about 183 millimeters
away from your corner of your stitching
and then you should find that this
creates two new corners so we've got one
here and one here and so we're going to
simply cut those off as well and this
will just create a really nice neat
corner when we turn this around you'll
want to do this to all four corners of
your fabric if you're working with the
lining we also need to trim down the
seam allowances now this does depend on
the fabric that you're working with but
all your canvas that we're working with
is rather thick so we're going to trim
down the seam allowances to about a
quarter of an inch five millimeters and
I would do that on the bottom edge and
also on the side edges and I'm doing the
same on my lining fabric and you want to
trim off a quarter of an inch here which
will be a little bit stiff because we
are cutting off near the end of the zip
there with all the seam allowance bulk
but this is really important so that
when you turn it around you get a really
neat finish complete this for the rest
of your little bag and then we can turn
them around to the right side using the
hole in the lining you're going to turn
this around to the right side and this
is why we had to leave our zip open
when you get there you want to make sure
that you poke out all of the corners and
you can use a little cocktail stick or a
point turner to do this whatever is
easiest for you just be careful if you
choose to use a pair of scissors
obviously you don't want to go cutting
through your handiwork be sure that you
really poke out the top zipper tap so
that you get a really nice finish with
those and that you poke out the corners
so that you get a really nice finish if
you find that neither of these come out
very well you may need to turn it a
background to the wrong side and do a
little bit more trimming once you're
happy with the bag and you've poked out
all the corners if you've lined the bag
you will want to pull up out the lining
and the little area that we left as a
whole you'll want to tuck under the seam
allowances now if you have can you using
a fabric that you're working with pins
you're welcome to pin this otherwise the
little Bulldog clips will be fine and
you just want to hold this so that we
can take it to the sewing machine and
sew the hole closed to sew the hole in
the bottom of the lining closed you want
to sew one eight three millimeters away
from the folded open edge and you want
to start just before the hole to go
backwards and forwards right three
stitches and sewing along the Lightning
trying to get your two folded edges to
sit neatly on top of each other you want
to sew until you get to the end of the
hole and simply back stitch again secure
your stitching once you've sewn along
the bottom edges of the lining you can
trim your threads and push that back
inside your bag if you're working and
creating a bag with outer lining then
it's slightly easier you will want to
open your zip and position your fabrics
right sides together
now we're going to be sewing along the
side edges along the botton and back up
the other side edge using a half inch
seam allowance or if you're working a
metric it will be one centimeter
now the most important thing here is
that you want these two edges the folder
that all the sewn edge of both of these
to sit directly one on top of each other
and the seam allowances have to go on
both sides towards the bag now because
I'm working with the oil canvas I'm
going to be using my Bulldog clips to
hold this together however if you were
working with a fabric that you could pin
through you would be welcome to pin it
and I'll probably use a couple along one
side and the same along the bottom and
the other side to hold everything nice
and snug and as I said the most
important thing here is that your two
edges sit nice and flush and female
ounces go towards the body of the bag
one thing that may make this easier the
sewing process easier is to actually
draw on your corners now I like to do
this because it means that when you get
sewing to the corner you may not have a
marking on your machine that lets you
know when you are half an inch or one
centimeter away from the edge and
therefore can turn so I tend to draw
these on for accuracy all I'm going to
use is my ruler to draw on with a
removable pen my 1/2 an inch or one
centimeter up from the bottom edge and
in from the side edge and that's going
to give me a nice little right angle
which will help me when sewing now when
it comes to sewing the bag without the
lightning there are two options you can
firstly so from the top zipper edge down
to the bottom you would turn the bag
over and complete the same on this side
and then you would finish by sewing
along the bottom edge that is absolutely
fine one thing I must point out however
is that when you're doing this and when
you're sewing along the bottom edge you
want to make sure that your back
stitching actually covers the stitching
going in the opposite direction down the
sides the only reason we say that is
because if it doesn't you
find that you end up with a little weak
corner and we will need to be trimming
the fabric to make sure that our corners
can turn around neatly I will explain
this as we are stitching and if you want
to refresh you can look at how we sewed
the lining in the bag because we did do
it with using this method if you haven't
got a lining in the bag you are more
than welcome to sew down one side
position your needle in turn and sew
along the bottom and sew back up the
other side and that's absolutely fine
and it will work well with fabrics that
aren't so difficult to sew with you
don't want to get to the top here and
find you've got some slip and the your
edges do not match up now we're going to
be sewing down the side of the bag from
the top zip edge to the bottom using a
1/2 inch 1 centimeter seam allowance I
would recommend using the zipper foot as
it will probably be easier to use this
when you go past the zipper here back
stitch at the top edge and please make
sure that your two edges do line up
neatly and we're going to sew down this
line taking out the pins or the Bulldog
clips as you go when you get to the
bottom we are going to AK stitch again
secure the stitching now we're going to
do exactly the same on the other side
sewing from the zipper edge down to the
bottom using a 1/2 inch 1 centimeter
seam allowance backstitch at the top and
again make sure the top edges are nicely
lined up once you've sewn the two side
seams you can sew along the bottom of
the fabric again using the 1/2 inch 1
centimeter seam allowance one thing to
point out here though is that you want a
backstitch at the start and end of this
seam and you want to make sure that your
back stitching actually passes the seam
down the side of the bag to make sure
that it's really secure we will be
trimming off the fabric at the corners
and you don't want to make your corners
weak and for them to come undone so
really make sure that you back stitch
over your line sewing the side of the
and then you can sew all the way along
the bottom edge doing the same back
stitching over the seam along the side
of the bag at the other end
once you have sewn the bag you want to
trim the threads and then we want to
trim some off the seam allowances off
firstly we need to cut the corners and
we're going to be cutting off the main
corner here about 1/8 3 millimeters away
from the corner stitching and this is
why we needed to make sure our back
stitching continued over that side edge
once you've gone across like this you
are then going to have created two new
corners and we want to trim both of
those off as well this will make it
really neat when we turn it around you
may also find if you're working with an
oil canvas or a heavy fabric that you
actually want to trim it down the seam
allowances and I would trim down the
seam allowances to about a quarter of an
inch five millimeters and I would do
this down both sides along the bottom
edge as well and this will just make it
need to turn around if you're working
with a lighter weight fabric this isn't
as much of a problem the other thing to
note is that you want to cut off the
tabs that extend past the zip just to
get rid of any bulk do this for
everything so the tabs you should have
four of them you should have two corners
to trim and the rest of the seam
allowances and then you can turn this
around to the right side turn the bag
around to the right side poking out all
of the corners using a point turner or a
little bit of dowel you also want to
make sure that you really turn out top
edges by the zip tab if you find it
difficult to turn anything around on
pushing out your points I would
recommend going back inside and trilling
a little bit more of the seam allowance
away and here you have it here the three
different sizes that we have created for
you and as I said we'll put a link to
the sizes mm size the zip that you
need in the description box below we've
got one that's perfect for sort of a
clutch a pencil case ID and a smaller
coin purse I really hope you've enjoyed
this tutorial and I hope you've learned
something new and I look forward to
seeing what you've created thanks for
watching
Oh