A Make Up Bag Tutorial...

Hello ladies!

So today, because i am all packed up to move, and i had nothing else to do...I made a bag for a lady at work. Her and I always talk fabric, sewing, projects etc. so i promised her before i finish work on friday i would make her a little bag!

This is a bag which i only recently started making, it has no visible seams or stitching, so it looks very professional and makes a prefect gift! You really cant go wrong with this bag!

I thought i'd record the process i go through, to share with you all and for my own personal reference!

So here we go...

What you'll need:

Fabric (one for the outer and one for lining)
Scissors
A zip of your preffered length
Pins
Measuring Tape
Tracing paper (i use greasproof paper!)
Tread
Sewing machine or a good old sewing needle.

Step 1

Your zip should be the chosen length of the opening of your bag. Mine is around 25cm. You need to create a pattern for which your bag will be based around. The shown pattern works very well for creating perfect corners, so i advise trying to copy the above pattern on your tracing paper.

Step 2

You then need to cut this pattern out of your fabric. The best way to do this is to place the traing paper on top of your fabric, pin it down and cut around. Then once you have this shape, you need three more. You should end up with two lining shapes and two outer shapes.

Step 3

Check your lining and outer fabric match up, and check that the top edge is the same length as your zip.

Step 4

You then need to lay your two pieces of fabric on top of the zip (zip facing up, outer lining facing down) and pin these together ready for sewing.

Step 5

Once you sew these in a straight line, if you turn the outer fabric right side up, the zip will be neatly attached with no visible seam or stitching.
Repeat this for the other side of the zip so that you end up with something like this...

It is a good idea to press the bag at this stage to smooth out any creases before we begin to form the shape.

Step 6

You then need to separate your lining and outer fabrics, so the zip is sandwhiched between the two. (so have the linings lying on top of each other and the outer fabrics also lying on top of each other, right sides inwards)

You need to open the zip before doing this, so it can be turned inside out without any problems!

You need to stich all three straight edges of both fabrics, making sure the zip is included in the stitching, joining it all together.

It should look something like this...(dont stitch the little cut out corner bits, only the three straight edges!)

Step 7

When sewing the bottom edge of the lining fabric, be sure to leave a small gap so you can turn the fabric inside out, otherwise you'll end up with a hollow inside out bag, unable to turn it inside out!!

Step 8

Next step is the corners. Take the corner in your hand, and shift the fabric so that instead of a triangle cut out, you have a straight line with seams in the middle.
(hard to explain but the pictures show it clearly!)

Pin this edge, and stitch right across it. After this, press the corners in the correst position, this will create the boxy bag shape we are aiming for, and allow it to have a square base to stand on!

Step 9

Once all corners are done in this way, you should have this hollow bag shape. The next thing is to find the hole you left in the lining and slowly turn the whole bag inside out, through this hole. Then find the zip and arrange the bag to sit how it looks below...

So there we have a finished make up bag!! I hope this was easy to understand, and even if you're not going to try it, i hope it enlightened you to the process i use to make these cute little bags!

If you made it to this stage...thanks for reading!! :)