My friend Julia had one wish. . .and one wish only (at least for that day). That her boys would have a washable, eco-friendly, stuffable lunch bag. So this is the pattern I developed.
First of all, you must know that creativity is a messy business! This is my sewing room, AFTER I cleaned it so I could work.
Many of you went to our girls night out in Bellingham, so you already have the lunch bag pattern. If you are a total stranger, and want the pattern, you can e-mail me at tlhbooth@msn.com. I'll be selling the pattern for $5.00, because mailing is soooooo painful. If you are part of my local sewing group you can come by and copy it.
*Cutting Tip: To cut more accurately hold pattern and fabric down with non -cutting hand in front of scissors as you cut. Make sure to cut on hard, flat surface.
This is what it should look like when you're done. Except you should have two main body pieces and two facing pieces.
Step 2: finish raw edges of lower edge of facing by either serging, or by folding under raw edge 1/4 inch. Then press and sew.
Step 3: Sew tops of handles on main body together and facings together. They should look like this before they are pressed.
Step 4: Press open seams of main body and facing handles.
Step 5: Press inside pockets in half once.
Step 6: Fold under raw edge, opposite of fold. Raw edge can be finished if you like, because it might show a little at the very end.
Step 7: Now put facings and main bag body together, right sides together, matching seams. You are going to pin the inside circle.
Step 8: When you flip back facing, seams should be aligned. Here is a picture of the inside circle being pinned.
*Pinning hint: Many of you were taught to put the pins perpindicular to your project. If you will put the sharp end of the pin pointing towards the sewing machine when you sew, it will act more like actual basting and you will have a more accurate,finished project when you are done.
Step 9: Sew inside circle.
Step 10: Clip to stitching line on inside curves, and where seams meet. You don't need to clip on straightaways. You clip the inside curves because it allows room for the stitching line to be straight when you press it flat. In other words, you are releasing tension. There is no tension on a straight line of sewing when you pull it straight.
Step 11: Trim out seam allowances where seam allowances match when sewn together.
Step 12: Press insde circle seam allowances open, as much as possible.
Step 13: Flip under and press. Sometimes it's necessary to wet your fingers and "roll" the fold out, so the seam allowance isn't folded in too much.
Step 14: Press under outside of handles at matching width. You are going to be topstitching those together so the top and bottom need to match.
Step 16: Cut 1/4-3/8 inch elastic, 7 1/2 inches long.
*Elastic Tip - For elastic to gather it needs to be two-thirds the length of the object you are gathering.
Step 17: Fold under pocket raw edges on two sides. You should have one raw long side, one folded under long side and oneshort side and the fold, which when stitched will make the casing.
Step 18: Now stitch a casing into the two pocket pieces seperately, making sure to make it wide enough for your elastic. Then stitch the two pockets together, stitching a short side, and a long side backstitching at the casing. Don't stitch your casing shut! Opened flat the pocket should look like the below picture.
Step 19: Feed elastic through both sides of pocket. A Bodkin, or a safety pin will work well for this task.
Here is a picture of a bodkin, and the pocket gathered.
Step 20: Place pocket on either raw edge of bag and pin.
Step 21: Sew pocket onto side of raw edge, zig-zag or serge to finish seam.
Step 22: Sew gusset into bottom of lunch bag, by matching seams and sewing across the bottom of the triangle that is formed by matching, and flattening seams.
Step 23: Turn bag inside out and you are done. Go to the top of the blog to see how it should look!
