Barrel Bag Sew Along Instructions: Week 5

The final step is here! Well done if you've been keeping up with the sew along, and thank you so much for taking part. I have really enjoyed seeing your bags come together. 

Don't worry if you are worried about losing your place in the instructions: I am planning to archive them all in one spot so that they are easy to find for future reference.  

barrel bag

Finishing Touches:

Seam Finishing: 

The next thing you need to do after last week is finish the inside of your round seams: I have bound mine using the 4cm bias binding. It is a professional and also pretty finish to have on the inside of your bag. If you want to request a tutorial in how to bind seams please go ahead and use the contact form. 

Or, you can overlock the raw edges together- it is quicker and also very strong. 

Making the Strap:

Cut 2 x 10cm lengths of webbing, and also 2 x 7cm lengths. Then, have a look at your remaining webbing and decide how long you would like your shoulder strap to be. 

Don't forget that the buckles themselves will contribute to the length, and you should also allow about 3cm for the loop of webbing used to attach them (see picture below)- the overall length of buckle plus webbing loop is about 7.5cm each end of the strap. 

bag strap detail

You also need to add 1cm seam allowance each end of your strap. 

Once you are satisfied that you have identified the correct length of webbing, cut the strap to length. 

Take a 10cm piece of webbing, fold in half long ways and topstitch. Thread this loop through your buckle, then sew the loop closed. 

Place this loop onto a shorter 7cm piece of webbing and sew them together near the top. Make sure the buckle has its opening side facing down as pictured. The webbing loop should overhang by about 1cm: this is to stagger the bulk of the seam and also to ensure the rivets will go through it.

Then, place the strap onto the buckle to sandwich it into place, and sew, taking a 1cm seam allowance from the strap and the 7cm webbing. 

Now, press this seam so that it lays flat, and press the raw edge of the 7cm webbing, turning 1cm over. 

Topstitch around the sides and top of this shorter piece, attaching it to the main strap. 

Repeat this process for the other end of the strap. 

Now, making small pilot holes with an awl or a sharp pair of scissors, hammer the rivets into place, arranging them as you like, but preferably add strength by holding all of these layers of webbing together. 

The last step:

One (optional) finishing touch is to sew your handles together longways for strength and ease of use: find the midpoint at the top of you handles, then measure and mark 10cm either side of this. 

Fold your webbing in half along this 20cm, and sewing close to the edges topstitch both sides together. 

love that 'Quink' linen

And you're done! 

Well done and thank you again for joining in the sew along. Don't forget to keep tagging me in your finished results on twitter and instagram!

With thanks once again to Merchant & Mills for kindly supplying the materials for this project. 

barrel bag from Merchant & Mills materials

Barrel Bag Sew Along Instruction: Week 4

Sew Along: Week 4

Welcome back! This week is an exciting one- your bag will really begin to take shape! 

barrel bag sew along

You will need to have your D rings handy.

Let's go!

Cut a 20cm piece of your webbing. Fold it in half down the length of it and topstitch the long edges neatly together (from the right sides). Now cut this into two, so that you have two pieces measuring 10cm each. 

Fold one piece in half, place the D ring into the fold and stay stitch the ends together, so that your D ring is secured into a loop of webbing. Repeat this step for the other D ring and piece of webbing. 

Merchant & Mills Hardware 

Bag Ends: 

Now, take both of your round bag ends, and mark the quarters around them that you notched into your pattern way back at the beginning. I don't like to mark these points too soon because when you are using chalk they often rub off anyway. 

Also on the body of your bag mark the point on the fabric which is directly opposite the zip seam, and also the points which are exactly half way between the top and bottom of the bag.

notches are important

...marked with chalk

Now, attach your one-sided foot to the machine and locate your piping cord.

Lining up all of the raw edges, place your piping cord onto the round bag end and sew thus: you should have a 1cm seam allowance. It is important that the start and end of your cord should overlap as shown in the pictures so that there will be no gaps in the cord, so make sure you have a little spare at the beginning and end. When you come to the end of the circle, sew actually through the cord to secure it into this overlapped position. 

Piping attached to one bag end

piping must overlap at the beginning and end

Re-mark your quarter points if necessary. 

Pin your loops with their D rings so that they will sit at the top of the bag. Be sure that the rings point towards the centre of the circle, so that they will be on the outside of the bag when it is turned through. 

Now, lining up all of your guide points carefully, pin the body of your bag onto the bag ends (RS together), and still with your one-sided foot sew around the circle in exactly the same way as before. Take a 1cm seam allowance- the aim is to sew in exactly the same place when you attached the piping.

Ensure that your zip is open (crucial but easy to overlook!), before repeating these steps for the opposite end of the bag. 

piping is a beautiful visual detail on the bag

Join me next week for the final instalment of instructions, with details of how to finish your bag to a beautiful standard. 

Once again, thank you for tagging me on twitter or instagram. Please keep doing this- it's great seeing how you are getting on, and don't forget you can always use the contact form if you need clarification. 

Thank you for taking part!

Barrel Bag Sew Along Instructions: Week 3

Sew Along: Week 3

Barrel Bag 

This week your bag will really begin to take shape! We will be inserting the zip. 

I would first just like to point out that, shockingly, I forgot to do what I am about to instruct you to do! Apologies in advance for this, I just got too excited! 

Next Step:

It is necessary to finish the raw edges where the zip will be inserted. These are the edges of your main fabric which measure 52cm. 

By 'finish' I simply mean that we cannot leave the fabric with the raw edges it has at the moment because it will fray. You can either

- overlock these edges,

- run a zig zag stitch along them,

-or, bind them with bias binding.

You have a 1.5cm seam allowance here, so make sure whatever finish you use stays within this distance of the edge of the fabric. 

The Zip:

Don't be afraid of the zip! We are going to topstitch it in place. Your zip should be about 45cm/18".

Place your now-finished edges together and line them up as if you are going to sew down them, joining them, with the RS's of your bag together. Be sure to keep the handles out of the way. 

Taking a 1.5cm seam allowance, sew about 5cm down the edges, then stop, backpacking securely. Turn the bag around and do the same at the other end. 

tack in a contrasting colour

Use chalk or a fabric marker to draw a line 1.5cm from the edges running along the rest off this edge we are working on. 

Then, preferable in a contrasting colour, make a neat line or tacking stitches along the line you have drawn. Make these stitches as straight as possible. 

seam pressed open

Press this seam open, along the whole length of the machine stitches and tacking stitches. A long thin sleeve board is useful here if you have one. 

Next, pin and tack your zip into place, so that the teeth are carefully positioned where the bag will open (under your contrasting tacking stitches).

For sewing in the zip, you can use your one-sided foot. However, when I have bulky fabric I often like to use my walking foot for sewing in zips. This helps to prevent the puckering that sometimes happens.

walking foot

Making sure your needle will not hit the zipper teeth (this will most likely break it), and starting with the zip closed, sew in a neat box down one side of the zip, across the end if you can, and up the other side and the opposite end. You will need to move the zip handle a little as you get to the end of your box- leave the needle down through the fabric so as not to interrupt your line of stitching. 

Remove the rest of your contrasting tacking (you will most likely have had to remove a little already in order to sew the box all around your zip). This is where the contrasting colour is really useful: you know easily that these stitches can be removed. 

Also remove the tacking that held your zip in place as this is no longer needed. 

Open your zip- both to check that it all works, and in preparation for the next step!

Well done! 

barrel bag with zip

Thank you if you have tagged me on social media (here or here) to let me know how you're getting on. I love seeing all of your fabric choices. And don't forget, if you need any clarification just use the contact form to the right and I will try to explain anything that might seem confusing. 

Announcing The Barrel Bag Sew-Along, with Merchant & Mills

sewing instructions

Announcing the Sew-Along:

I am delighted to announce that I am hosting a sew-along, sponsored by Merchant & Mills.

How it works: 

Each Wednesday I will upload a set of clear instructions for you to complete at your leisure to take you through every detail of how to make your very own barrel bag, in small manageable stages.

The Sew-Along

About the Bag: 

I love the preppy style of barrel bags, but I wanted to soften it a little. The relaxed and slightly slouchy result is perfect for me to use as a gym bag: it is quite capacious but with a proper fastening, and I can either throw it over my shoulder or grab the handles to rummage through the contents. 

I hope I've come up with something that will be equally useful to you, be it for a day out, an alternative to your handbag, an overnighter, for school or college... or whatever you choose. A barrel bag is also gender neutral, so this could be a great make for a man. 

How to make a barrel bag

I'm waiting a week before I launch in with instructions to allow you to gather your materials and equipment. 

Merchant & Mills:

If you've never encountered Merchant & Mills at their shop, or selling elsewhere then you have missed out! Their website is perfectly lovely, and tells you pretty much everything you need to know, but there is nothing quite like seeing the colours of all of those beautiful fabrics in the flesh and engaging with their really tactile properties. Yes, dear readers, I have spent some considerable time loitering, planning projects, and, um, shopping!

what's in this beautiful package?!

Therefore, I am thrilled that they have supported this sew-along by providing my fabrics, hardware, and webbing. Thank you so much to Carolyn, and also to Michelle. 

I strongly recommend that you order your fabrics and hardware from their website, or pop down to their shop in Rye, East Sussex, if you can.

What You Need to Make a Barrel Bag:

Fabrics:

It took me (somewhat characteristically) a long time to decide which fabrics to plump for, but for my main fabric I chose Quink linen: it is substantial and yet soft, and I love the way has amazing depth of colour, and yet antiques with use. It is also beautiful on the 'wrong' side, which means the inner of my bag is as beautiful as the outer (I made use of this contrast on the pocket). You will need one metre.

For the contrasting fabric I went for an Indian cotton, in marbled indigo. I have used these Indian cottons before, so I knew that they handle really well and have a nice dry sort of feel. 

The straps are vital to this bag, so I suggest that you don't scrimp on your webbing. You will need four metres, which seems huge I know, but I promise you it is important. I went for 50mm blue grosgrain. 

You'll also need two metres of fine piping cord (approximately 2mm diameter), plus matching cotton sewing thread. I used Guttermann shade 5412 which is a perfect match.

'Quink' linen, Indian cotton, 5mm grosgrain

Hardware:

A beautiful bag deserves top quality hardware!

You will need a zip. I went for a chunky metal one, measuring 45cm long.

To make this bag you will need two D rings, two paraclips & four rivets. 

beautiful hardware

Tools:

You will need a sewing machine with a good sharp needle, plus a one-sided foot. 

You'll need your general sewing kit (hand needles, pins etc). 

sewing kit

Also on the list of essentials are good fabric scissors, drawing tools for both paper and fabric and pattern paper, (unless you want to work straight onto the fabric, in which case good fabric markers will do), including a long straight edge. 

Pilot 'Frixion' pens: my favourite for fabric marking as they iron off easily

A grader's square is extremely useful, as is a 26cm diameter plate. 

grader's square

For attaching the rivets: a hammer and an awl.

Skills: 

This sew-along will suit an adventurous beginner or someone who has intermediate skills. We will be putting a zip in, sewing curves and using bias binding (which I will explain in full). The really make-or-break skill is careful marking out though, for which no experience is necessary. 

How to Make a Barrel Bag:

Step 1: Preparation

Wash your fabric as per the instructions, and lay flat to dry, or hang from the selvedge on the line. Give them a careful press. 

26cm dinner plate

Sew-Along With Me: 

So, I hope you will join me next week for the first set of instructions in the sew-along. As I mentioned, each Wednesday the next instalment will be uploaded. You could consider subscribing to ensure that you don't miss any stages. 

I always welcome your comments, and if you get really stuck or you want to request further tutorials then please go ahead and use the contact form on the right. 

Also, I'd really love it if you tag me on instagram @stitchingfitpixie or twitter @StAustellStitch at every stage of your make: show me your fabrics and how you're getting on!

Amazing giant protractor also purchased at Merchant & Mills