Here’s a fabric shopping bag that I made for myself for the Holiday season.

It is both Paper Pieced (printable blocks) and conventional pieced.

Thanks go to Cori Derksen & Myra Harder for giving me permission to share with you the tree blocks that were inspired by blocks in their CD “Town & Country Patchwork”.
http://bluemeadowdesigns.com/
http://bluemeadowdesigns.blogspot.com/

As usual, all my blocks are designed in EQ6 from the Electric Quilt Company.

Blocks and directions are for your personal use & cannot be distributed or sold.
 
  • Fabric requirements
  • Background (BKG) - 1 yd.
  • Green stripe - Fat Quarter or 1/2 yd.
  • Red print - 1/2 yd. (no allowance for mis-cuts)
  • Assorted green (trees) - Two 10” squares for 6 trees
  • Brown (trunks) - 8” x 12”
  • Lining - 5/8 yd. (or piece lining)
    •      		Cut away a 21” x 18” piece of BKG
    for Paper Piecing.

    The rest of the BKG is used in construction of bag. 

    This bag is the same as construction of my Fabric Shopping Bag.

    Wash & dry all fabrics. Iron fabrics.

    All seam allowances are 1/4”, unless stated otherwise.

    Each tree block has 2 sections - top & bottom

    Paper Piecing blocks are in 2008ChristmasShoppingBag,pdf
    You will need to PRINT ALL THE PAGES TWICE to get templates needed
    to make the 6 trees and the ends for 2 bows, 
    Download 2008ChristmasShoppingBag,pdf

    I don't know why, but when viewing the PDF, page 2 shows up in "landscape". 
    When printing the PDF, all pages print "portrait".  Quirks!

    Paper Piecing instructions are not given with tutorial. Here’s a link to Christine Thresh’s page  http://www.winnowing.com/ppp.html  She has a great how-to.

    You will be making a front and a back for the bag. Both are constructed the same.

    Now, on with the construction of the bag --

    1. Paper piece 6 trees with trunks --
  • Two Center Trees
  • Two Left Trees
  • Two Right Trees
    •

    Trim. Remove paper.

     

    2. Paper piece four BOW ENDS.

    Trim. Remove paper.


    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    3. Strip Set for bow

    BKG - cut two - 1-3/4” x 14”

    Stripe - cut one - 2” x 14”

    Press seams towards stripe


    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    4. Cut Strip Set into sections:

    ~ Four 2-1/2”
    ~ Two 1-1/2”

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    5. Parts of Bow Units laid out

    Make 2 Bow Units.

    Click on pic for larger image
    6. Bow Units

    Make 2 Bow Units

    Long edge of Bow Ends - press seam away from bow.

    Short edge of Bow Ends - press seam to center knot.


    TIP
    When sewing patches together to make quilt blocks, we generally don’t do any backstitching on the seams. On the pieces that are part of the construction of the bag it’s a good idea to backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam.

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    7. Center Tree Units

    Make 2
    (one for bag front, one for bag back)

    Cut four BKG 3” wide x height of center tree block.

    Sew the strips to either side of center tree blocks.
    Press seams away from tree.

    Click on pic for larger image
    8. Center Panels

    Make 2.

    Bow Unit sewn to top of Center Tree Unit.
    Press seams away from Bow Unit.


     

    Left Tree   -  Right Tree  -  Left Tree  -   Right Tree
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    9. Tree Units - Left, Right

    Cut eight strips BKG 1-1/2” wide x height of tree block.
    Sew a strip to each side of tree block.
    Press seams away from trees.

    My Tree Unit measures 4-3/8” x 11-3/8” raw.
    I will be giving my own personal measurements of my own personal bag that I am making. Your measurements might just be a tad different. What we are striving for is to have the Left Panel & the Center Panel & the Right Panel be the same height . When those panels are sewn together, we are striving for the front of the bag to be the same size as the back of the bag.

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    10. Tree Units - Left, Right
    My L/R Tree Unit blocks measure 4-3/8” x 11-3/8” raw. To make the Tree Units the same height as the Center Tree Panel, a piece has to be cut to sew to the top of each Tree Unit.



     
    To determine what size piece to cut for above Tree Unit, I placed the Center Tree Panel and the Left Tree Unit side by side, bottom edges even. Center Tree Panel right side down and Left Tree Unit right side up.

    By putting the ruler 1/2” into the top of the Tree Unit block (blue arrow - that 1/2” is for seam allowance), I could see that I needed to cut BKG 4-3/8” x 3-1/4” (red arrow) to fit into that area above Tree Unit block & bottom of stripe.

    Cut 4.

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    11. Tree Units - Left, Right

    Sew the four BKG 4-3/8” x 3-1/4” to the tops of the Tree Units.

    Make 2 Left Tree Units.
    Make 2 Right Tree Units.

    Press seams away from trees.


    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)

    When cutting stripe, be sure the stripes line up with the stripes in the “ribbon” area of Center Panels.
    And when sewing the stripe, make sure it is sewn on in the right direction. ;-)
    12. Strip Set - Tree Units - Left, Right

    Cut BKG 1-3/4” x 18”
    Cut Stripe 2” x 18”

    Press seam away from stripe.

    4-3/8" ------- 4-3/8" ------ 4-3/8" ------- 4-3/8"
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    13. Cut Strip Set into sections:

    Four 4-3/8”

    Left Tree Panel - Right Tree Panel
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    14. Tree Panels - Left, Right

    Strip set sections sewn to tops of Tree Units.

    Make 2 Left Tree Panels.
    Make 2 Right Tree Panels.

    Press seams away from stripe.

    Left Tree Panel-Center Tree Panel-Right Tree Panel
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    15. Bag Front
    This is the front of the bag. Back is constructed the same way.

    Sew the Left Tree Panel to the left of the Center Panel.
    Sew the Right Tree Panel to the right of the Center Panel.

    If you pressed the stripe as per directions, you will find that the seams in the ribbon area will nestle together.

    Press seams away from center.

    Make one Bag Front.
    Make one Bag Back.

    My bag front measures 16-5/8” x 16-7/8”.

    Your bag front measurements might differ, but all is OK as long as your front & back are the same measurements.

    Cut Red 1-3/4” x 16-5/8”
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    16. Bag Front
    Since my front measures 16-5/8” wide, I cut 2 red strips - 1-3/4” x 16-5/8”.

    Sew a red strip to the front and one to the back.
    Back not shown.

    Press seams to red strip.

    Make one Bag Front.
    Make one Bag Back.

    17. Bag -Front & Back
    Cut stripe 2-1/2” wide x the width of the front. Cut 1.

    My Front/Back -- 16-5/8” wide, I cut 1 stripe strip - 16-5/8” x 2-1/2”.
    Sew the stripe between the bottom edges of the Front & Back pieces.
    Press seams toward stripe.

    My whole bag now measures 16-5/8” x 37-1/4”.
    Your measurements might be just a bit different.

    18. Bag - Front & Back - Bordered

    Cut 2 Red - 1-3/4” x length of the piece.

    My piece -- 37-1/4” in length
    I cut 2 Red strips - 1-3/4” x 37-1/4”.

    Sew the Red strips to the sides of the piece.
    Press seams towards Red strips.

    This completes the Front/Back section.

    My completed piece measures 19-1/8” x 37-1/4”.

    Your measurements might be just a bit different.

    19. Lining

    Cut a lining with the same measurements as the completed Front/Back section.

    Or you can piece the lining.

    I pieced my lining with the Stripe Fabric left over from the 1/2 yard that I bought for this bag and also used some Christmas fabric from my stash.

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    20. Sew together, Topstitch, Baste
    With right sides together, sew the completed Front/Back section to the lining along the top edges (short edges)
    See TIP below

    Turn right side out.
    Press top seams (short edges) towards lining.
    Press the bag flat, make sure the lining does not show at the top edges. Press the top edges (short edges).

    From right side of bag, Topstitch the top edges, approximately 1/4” from edge. Use a longer stitch than normal for Topstitching.
    On the long sides of the piece, have raw edges even and place pins along the long sides.

    Machine-baste along the long sides -- staying within the 1/4” seam allowance. This will keep the layers from shifting.

    TIP
    The Red fabric has been cut across grain which has “give”.
    If any of your lining pieces have the straight of grain (lengthwise of fabric) running lengthwise at any of the edges, they will not have any “give”. In that case, always stitch with the fabric that has straight of grain (no “give”) on top and fabric that has cross grain (with “give”) touching the bed of your machine.
    The machine’s feed dog teeth will ease the cross grain fabric into the seam.

    21. Handles
    I used www.morsbags.com directions for the width of the handle, cut 4". This makes for a very comfortable width and a sturdy handle.

    I used the 96" for the length of handle from the www.thecreativethimble.com bag, sewing the handles in one continuous loop. The handles go all the way around the bottom of the bag. Really secure.

    Fold & press the handles. I turn under & press 1/4" along one long edge of the handle. Turn under & press 1-1/4" along the other long edge of handle.


    Click on pic for larger image
    22. Handles
    Fold the handle wrong sides together, meeting folds on long edges.
    Do not Topstitch the handle now. Handle will be Topstitched when sewing it to the bag.

    23. Handles
    Pin the handles to bag, placing the folded edges (not the fold in handle) up against the seamline that lies between the Center Tree Panel and the Left, Right Panels. All of the width of the handle lays on the Center Tree Panel.

    The next couple of pics will give a closer look.

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    24. Handles close-up
    I’ve pull the handle away from the seamline so you can see the Fold in Handle, the Folded Edges and the Seamline. Note that the handle is lying in the Center Tree Panel.

     
    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    25. Handle close-up

    Handle pinned back in place

    Click on pic for larger image (captioned)
    26. Handle - stitched
    First stitching line -- along the "Folded Edges" which lies along the seamline.

    Sew the handle to the bag, with 3 rows of stitching (close to each long edge of handle & down the center). You can sew all around, 3 times, without stopping. On occasion, you might have to stitch over stitching, but that's okay.
    Be sure to make Xs in the handle, near the top. This will make it more secure.
    Ooops, I see in the pic that I forgot to stitch the line down the middle of the handles -- I’ll go and do that right now.

    That 3rd stitching line down the middle keeps the layers from shifting in the part of the handle that you use to hold the bag. I suppose you could just stitch the 3rd line in that area. I went around the entire handle.

    If you want to do any quilting stitches, now would be a good time to do that, while the bag is in the flat. The only quilting stitches that I did were on either side of the Stripe Fabric that is between the Front & Back of bag. That Stripe Fabric will become part of the bottom of the bag.

    Sew the side seams in a French Seam -- sew wrong sides together, press, turn fabrics to right side, press and then sew right sides together.
    Here's some instructions http://www.sewneau.com/how.to/french.seam.html on how to make a French Seam, if you've never done that before.

    Click on pic for larger image
    27. French Seam - Trim
    After I’ve done the 1st stitching with wrong sides together, I use my rotary cutter and trim that seam allowance, just a tad -- it also cuts off those pesky bits that are hanging there.

    If you leave those threads there, they will be sticking out on the right side of the bag when you sew the 2nd part of a French Seam.
    It is easier to trim them now … ;-)

    28. French Seam - Inside bag
    Shows the “clean finish” of a French Seam inside of my bag.

    29. Bottom not yet squared

    You could use the template from www.thecreativethimble.com bag to make a square bottom and just leave those triangles flopping in the bottom of the bag, no reason to trim them off.

    Or use the method below that I devised for a "French Seam Squared Bottom"

    30. 1st stitching French Seam
    Wrong sides together, matching the side seam and the bottom seam, sew across the corner.

    The stitching line will be approximately 6".  The stitching line is 4-1/8" from the corner of bottom of bag.
    31. Trim excess.

    32. Inside of bag, 2nd stitching of French Seam.

    After you stitch this seam, take a look at the seam on the right side of bag.  If you see some threads peaking through the seam, go ahead & re-stitch that line, taking a bigger seam allowance. Sew right alongside the previous stitching.

    If you have to re-stitch, make sure you have the stitching on the other bottom corner correspond to the width of seam allowance used..

    33. Shows the French Seam on outside of bag.

    See -- no threads poking out of the seam!  ;-)

    Makes a 7" side to the bag.

    34.  Finished bag -- bottom squared


    If you spot any errors,
    please let me know so I can correct them.
    anotherpat@gmail.com

    If you make a Christmas bag,
    let me know -- I'd like to see it.
    anotherpat@gmail.com

    Gallery of fabric bags -- pics sent in by others

    Page created by Pat Tribbey  November 25, 2008
    Page updated December 26, 2008

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