So, you want to sew better bags? You’re at the right place.
Many times, the road from a so-so looking handmade bag and a beautiful, precious, perfect, wear-it-everywhere bag is just a few stitches long.
First of: handles. Your bag handles and strap will suffer the most wear and tear, but they’ll also be the first things people notice, so they have to be not only sturdy, but also perfect looking. To perfect your sewing, check the links below:
- How to make an adjustable purse strap
- How to attach leather handles
- How to make your own pleather handles
Next: structure. If you’re using one of my sewing patterns (Thank you!), you’ll see that many of them, like the Nappy/Travel Bag, the Saddlebag, or the Bookbag Backpack, are quite structured. If you want to use a beautifully printed cotton fabric (bye-bye boring handbags!), and still want your bag to keep its structure, you can use a fabric stabiliser. Or, you can use a fabric that already has a lot of structure and body and skip the stabiliser. I wrote in detail about this in the posts below:
- How to choose foam stabilisers
- How to sew without foam stabilisers
Last but not least, there are the finishing touches. A good bag looks as beautiful on the inside as it does on the outside, so use a pretty fabric and make as many pockets as you need. A tip! Before starting to sew your bag, take everything out of the bag you last used. Is it messy? What kind of pockets would you need? What size? Take a note and customise your bag to fit your lifestyle. The more attentive you’ll be to your needs, the better you’ll get at this. And I guarantee you’ll smile every time you zip open your precious, handmade handbag.
Here are some step by step tutorials I wrote about this topic:
- How to sew a zipped pocket
- How to fit a thumb catch
- How to sew a coin pocket to a wallet
- How to sew a decorative exposed zipper
- How to cut slippery lining fabrics
What about you? What are some other topics you would like to learn about to perfect your bag making? I’d love to know!