DIY bag: step-by-step master class

A handbag is an essential accessory in a woman's wardrobe. Every girl's closet is sure to have several different variations of bags for every occasion. Today I propose to build a small but comfortable handbag that can be worn over your shoulder. At the time of creating the pattern, you can adjust the dimensions to suit yourself, to your taste and desire. My purse can easily accommodate a smartphone, keys and an impressively sized wallet; if this suits you, you can do everything according to the calculations given.

Bag pattern

Just like sewing clothes, when making a bag you need to create a pattern. I didn’t cut it out on purpose, but made all the markings on the fabric using an angled ruler and chalk. Schematically, everything looks like this:

This is the frame of the bag: front, back and sides. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in creating a pattern. To be honest, there is nothing complicated about sewing a bag at all, but it’s a tedious operation which I also call “sewing Kama Sutra”   a lot. So, now let's get down to sewing. First you need to decide whether your handbag will be soft or hard. In order for the accessory to hold its shape flawlessly, it must be treated with very hard dublerin. I decided to make it soft and use dublerin exclusively for facing, so I only needed a little bit of it. Otherwise, take the same amount of dublerin as leatherette, and before sewing the parts together, glue each piece with this material.

How to sew a bag with your own hands

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20 cm of leather substitute;

• 30 cm of lining fabric;
• metal zipper (one-piece) - 18-20 cm;
• half rings - 2 pcs.;
• doublerin - 15 cm;
• matching threads.

I specifically decided to calculate the cost of such a homemade product - only 260 rubles (!). Conclusion - the game is worth the candle! And if you consider that you can decorate a bag as you please, sewing it in a variety of shapes and colors is simply wonderful!

We cut out the side, front and back parts from the leather substitute. If the material is very wrinkled, I recommend ironing it immediately, since doing this later will be problematic. This must be done from the wrong side through the ironing iron. I warn you right away that hot leatherette is very vulnerable and the front side can be scratched if not handled carefully, so after ironing it is better not to touch the material for a while and let it cool completely.

Take the side pieces of the bag, fold them right sides together and sew along the narrow side.

Now you need to sew the front and back parts to this side panel. To make it easier, mark the center of the bottom half on the front (and then the back) half and match the mark to the seam location on the side. Then sew the bottom of the bag first and then sew the side seams.

Don't worry if at this stage things turn out uneven and the tops don't fit together a little. For now this is a “rough” processing and you can carefully go through it with scissors and trim off the excess. Once all the seams are done, you can turn the bag back to normal and make sure everything is going well. This is the frame we got.

But then the most dreary and painstaking process begins.

Preparing the facing for the bag. In my case, I decided to make a 3 cm hem. As a result, I cut out two strips of leatherette measuring 3 cm x 20 cm and two 3 cm x 6.5 cm. Duplicate the parts on the double fabric.

Glue the doublerin to the blanks.

Now the resulting parts need to be sewn together so that the end result is a facing like this.

Cut two rectangles measuring 15 cm x 22 cm from the lining fabric. Sew the sides using an overlocker and work the top in a circle. You can also work the bottom in a circle, but under no circumstances sew it!

Now the bag lining needs to be sewn to the facing. Place them right sides together and machine stitch them.

Now let's prepare and decorate the lock. Measure the tip of the lock so that the metal retainer can be closed. Cut out the appropriate square, fold its edges and sew.

Carefully close the tip of the lock with it and sew the side seams so that everything is fixed to the lock fabric. The result should be the following picture.

We will also cover the side parts of the lock with leather substitute. Cut two strips of the required length (measure along the lock) + a small hem allowance near the “dog” to beautifully hide the rest of the material on the lock and the cut. Place the resulting piece a little short of the zipper, bend it and sew it. Do the same with the other side. As a result, we get a castle like this.

That's it. Now the finished lock needs to be sewn to the facing, carefully placing it where it should be. The process is simple, but tedious. Be careful not to accidentally stitch the lining to the zipper. Everything looks like this.

Let's complicate the task - open the lock and put the frame of the bag into the lining with the front sides. Join the corners, if possible, pin them together with very thin needles. Machine stitch along the top.

Turn the bag inside out, placing the lining inside. Now you need to fix the facing - just lay a machine stitch over it, trying to get it exactly into the seam from the wrong side. We still leave the lining open.

Now you need to attach rings for the handle to the bag. Depending on the size of the rings, cut out 4 rectangles.

Sew two at a time, placing them right sides together, sew, leaving one side open, and then turn them inside out. Mark the place where the rings will be sewn. Insert the latter into the finished fasteners and sew them to the sides of the bag. This will have to be done very carefully and manually, using a confidant to help, since it is difficult for the needle to pass through such a layer of leatherette, and a thicker needle can leave unsightly marks.

Now, already at this stage, you can close the bottom of the lining. Take it out, place the edges of the fabric inside, pin it with needles and sew it on a machine, stepping back a little from the edge.

All that remains is to complete the handle. But this is the simplest thing - measure how long and wide the handle suits you. Cut out a long rectangle whose length is the length of the handle and the width is twice the width of the handle. Leave allowance for the side hem. Fold the edges in and machine sew a long stitch. Thread the finished handle into the rings of the bag and sew it (this can already be done on a sewing machine).

That's all, the bag is ready. You can leave it as is, or decorate it as you wish. For these purposes I chose lace, buttons and beads. By the way, instead of such a handle, made of leatherette, you can thread a chain or, similarly, come up with something of your own.