Embroidery Bag

(As seen on HGTV’s That’s Clever!)

I love taking my embroidery on the road but all too often it ends up a jumbled mess of needles and floss. This simple bag was my solution. The instructions assume you know the basics of bag making. If not, check out the Jordy Bag tutorial on Craftster. All seams are .5 inch.

Materials Needed:
· Duck Cloth
· Lining
· Rick Rack
· Bias Tape
· Sewing Materials
· Embroidery Materials
· Plastic vinyl
· 2 Red Buttons
· Velcro

Preparation:
1. Cut an 10?.5×11? square on the fold of your duck cloth and lining. We’ll call these Duck 1 and Lining 1. This will be your bag.

2. Cut a 10.5?x11? square out of both fabrics as well (not on the fold). These will be called Duck 2 and Lining 2. These will make up the flap that protects your embroidery equipment.

3. Embroider your image to the front Duck 1 (see embroidery image). Remember, Duck 1 should measure 21?x11?

Back Flap (see back image):
4. Cut 3 2?x11? stripes of vinyl. When sewing with vinyl, it’s a good idea to place a piece of tissue paper between your sewing machine head and the vinyl. This will prevent sticking.

5. Position the first strip 1.5?. up from bottom of Lining 2. Sew across bottom of vinyl. The next vinyl strip will be .5? up from the last. Sew the bottom of all strips in place.

6. Next we have to mark and sew the vertical lines, creating the floss compartments. The first line will be 2.5? inward. Each line thereafter will be spaced 2? from the last.

7. Sew Duck 2 to Lining 2, wrong side out and leaving the bottom open. Turn and press panel.

Back Panel:
8. Cut a 1.25? strip from the loop side of the Velcro and a 2? strip from the hook side. Fold hook section over on one side and sew, creating a tab. Attach .25? of loop to end of hook and sew in place. Place entire Velcro strip 2.5? away from side of Duck 1and 1? down from top. Sew in place along Velcro seam.

9. To make the needle holder, cut 2 4.5?x3.5? from lining. Sew together, wrong side out. Flip and press. Fold one end of the panel over .5? and press in place. Cut a 3.25?x2.75? piece of red felt. Slide into lining panel fold and sew in place on Duck 1.

10. Make a panel from 2 3.5?x9? pieces of lining. Sew in place on Duck 1. To prevent items (scissors, pencils and such) from falling out, sew all the way around except for a small 3? opening. It’ll be large enough to slip small scissors in but small enough that they won’t easily fall out.

Assembly:
11.Use a French Seam to attach the panel .5? away from middle of Duck 1. The panel should be attached on the opposite side of your embroidery.

12. Sew buttons and button holes in place. As you can see in the this image, I only have one button and it doesn’t stay closed as much as I would have liked. I would suggest you place one button in each corner instead.

13. Sew Rick Rack and handles (26? of bias tape sewn shut) to top of bag.

14. Sew sides of Duck 1 together, wrong sides out. Making sure not to catch your back panel. Turn right side out.

15. Sew sides of Lining 1 together, wrong sides out.

16. Place Duck 1 inside of Lining 1 (right sides facing) and sew along top edge. Open your Lining 1 seam at the bottom and pull Duck 1 out, eventually turning your lining right side out. Sew opening shut.

17. Throw on some shoes, arm your new bag with necessary tools and go show the world your embroidery genius!