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| tips on how to make basic bags better... |
Having sewn my first bag in late 2012, I feel confident in saying that I've
learned things about making bags in the many years since.
While I'm not a bag making queen, I've modified and customized enough bags to
have accumulated some ideas on how to make even the most basic ones
better.
As in, better looking and better constructed.
Let's start right at the beginning and consider fabric.
Whether you're lucky enough to have a substantial stash of fabric or whether
you're harvesting material from recycled items like sheets and clothing, you
can make a statement by just sewing an extra seam.
Choose Pizzazz over Plain
Instead of making the exterior of your bag with just one fabric, why not
two?
While this is normally a compromise that sewers make when they don't have
enough yardage to begin with (e.g., my
Seth bag), it can also be a smart, deliberate choice. Don't you think that the
pieced versions of these bags are better looking than their single fabric
versions?
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Maybe go for stunning & stylish over stark & simple? |
This is not difficult to do. Take a copy of the template for the body
panel and cut it into the two or three pieces that you'll need. Be sure to
mark the cut edges of the resulting template pieces to remind yourself of
where you'll have to add a seam allowance when you measure the actual
fabric.
After you sew the fabrics together to form the pieced body panel, check it
for correct size against the original template. (Note that you can do this
on just the front facing part of your bag or on both sides. If doing it on
only one side, sew it first so that you can use it as a guide to ensure the
other panel is the same size.)
For a similar look without having to cut and join fabric pieces, you could
also sew a wide strip of coordinating ribbon somewhere, like I did across
the front pocket of
this bag.
Pay Attention to the Straps
Whether your bag has a single strap, a double strap or straps attached to
strap anchors, you can — and should — make them better.
Add Interfacing for Comfort & Durability
As a good rule of thumb, any time you make a bag strap, add a layer or two
of interfacing to it. (I like to use fusible fleece.) That strap is going
to sit on your shoulder or arm and deserves to be as substantial as you
can make it for the purposes of your comfort, its looks, and general long
life.
This is particularly important if you're sewing with quilting cotton
weight fabric. Go with your best judgement if your fabric is home decor
weight or similar, but I can't think of any reason why a bulked up strap
wouldn't
always be better than a limp one.
I didn't add interfacing to the strap of my summer sling and every
time I pick it up I'm reminded of that omission. It's a great bag
otherwise, but if it could be easily done, I'd tear that strap off in a
second and fix it.
Reinforce Them
I'm all for using small 1/4" (6mm) seam allowances to avoid wasting fabric,
but you need to make an exception when it comes to where the bag's straps
(or strap anchors) are attached to the bag.
Straps do the important job of holding the weight of the bag. If you sew
them in with a seam allowance of just 1/4", the fabric might fray or the
seam could come apart easily over time due to the stress. Reinforce your
straps (or strap anchors) and make them stronger by doing two things: 1)
embed them to a depth of at least 1/2" and 2) triple stitch across them.
The picture below is from my
Make it Yours Bag
pattern. I've circled the ends of the straps on one side of the bag to
illustrate what I mean about embedding them deeper than 1/2". Once this
was sewn (along the dashed lines) the total distance from the stitching
line to the end of the strap was probably 1".
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| Extending straps beyond the seam allowance... |
Simply put, see to it that the ends of your straps stick up above the
top seam of the bag when you're looking at it from the angle of the photo
above. Then reinforce it by sewing over the area indicated by the dashed
line three times; i.e., go over once, backstitch all the way back and then
stitch ahead again.
By the way, if you choose to follow the first suggestion to
add (more) interfacing to your bag straps, you may want to cut the
interfacing shorter so it does not reach right to the ends of the straps.
That way, they won't be unnecessarily thick and difficult to sew over.
Avoid the Saggy Baggy Syndrome
Another omission found in many basic bag patterns is some consideration
for how the bag will look after it's filled with potentially heavy
items. I don't know about you, but a saggy baggy is not an acceptable look
unless you're just carting around groceries.
Before you sew up the bottom of a bag's lining (assuming the bag's been
"birthed" in the traditional way), fill the bag with what you intend to
carry regularly. If you find that it sags noticeably, stop and add a piece
of firm interfacing (Peltex or equivalent; you could also
use plastic canvas or even the flexible cutting board type of plastic) to
the inside bottom.
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| A piece of Peltex fixed this saggy bottom... |
The photo above (of my
Ollie bag) doesn't capture an egregiously saggy bottom, but in person, it looked a
lot more lopsided and I wasn't going to have it; it got fixed.
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| How to add support to the bottom of a bag... |
Since this issue is more apparent on a bag that has a boxed bottom or a
gusset, it's really not that difficult to cut an accurate piece for the
Peltex insert. Just measure the length and width of the gusset or
base and subtract a half inch. (Whatever this insert if made out of, round
off the corners to prevent them from poking holes in the fabric.)
If you are using Peltex and it's fusible, place the fusible
side against the exterior fabric of the bag. Then stuff the bag with a
towel or two and hit the base with a steamy iron. Don't worry about how
well it's fused; even if it's only partially fixed in place, it should be
fine. (For non-fusible inserts, you could use a strip of double-sided
tape.)
Hope you've gained some insight from this post. If so, that's terrific; if
no, you're obviously already a better bag maker than I am and don't need
my advice!
'Til next...
Thanks again for the practical advice for improving my bag compositions. I don't make many but will want to incorporate best practices for best results.
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