6/5 - Back from Paris crafts - bag 1

Paris was a huge inspiration!  So many cute shops, including this one called Petit Pan.  I saw a few different bags that I just HAD to make!  I bought some fabric at their arts and crafts stores to make some stuff.  Here's the tutorial for my Paris market bag!  I was able to use a half yard of laminated cotton with cotton piping trim.  The pink material and polka dot piping are from Petit Pan, while the superhero material and yellow trim are from my local fabric store.

1.  First cut out pieces:
2 large rectangles for the front and back, 2 long rectangles for the sides, and two long rectangles for the handles.  These can vary in size depending on the dimensions of your bag, but you can see my measurements from the photo below.

2.  Ready your machine.  You will want to tape your machine and foot with masking tape or scotch tape, as the laminated cotton can stick quite a bit.   

 3.  Sew the short side of your two side pieces together, to make one long piece.

 4.  Change to your zipper foot, and sew the piping onto each side of the side pieces.  Note that the piping is sewn onto the right side of the fabric.

 5.  Now sew the sides to the front and back of the bag, starting from one side, then turning for the bottom, and back up the other side.  Sorry, I don't have a great picture of this, but it should look like this after you've sewn up the sides.

(You can also clip the corners to help with the sewing.)

6.  Tape the edge of the bag about 1 inch down, and sew the hem up.  You don't want to use pins because that will poke holes in your laminated cotton.  

7. Sew the handles.  Fold one side in the width you would like your handle to be, and sew up that side.  Then fold over the other side, to finish the handle.  You could also use tape to help hold this fold down.  

8.  Tape the handles in place, and sew them securely onto the bag by sewing a box with an "x" in it.

9.  Enjoy, you're done!