Project by Sally Boylett
This is a really useful accessory for when you don’t need to take out your whole baby changing bag! I use it to pop to the shops, and it will hold a nappy, baby wipes, cream etc and fits into your handbag easily.
You can make this bag as big or as small as you like – once you have the basic principal, it is very easily adaptable to your required size.
The bag I have made measures : 9.5” long and 5¾ “ high. At the boxed base it is 3 1/2 “ wide
Do not be worried about inserting a zip. It’s such a simple process and we use a zipper that is longer than the finished project to make it easier to insert.
I really hope you enjoy making this as much as I did.
Materials needed (for the size bag shown)
Craft cotton co fat quarter pack
Fusible wadding/bosal – you can use either iron on or normal
14” Zipper (use a plastic tooth zip, not metal)
If using non fusible wadding, 505 temporary basting glue
Clips or pins
Before cutting :
I always iron and starch all of my fabrics before cutting. This is an optional step. I find you get cleaner cuts this way.
Cut
2 strips from each piece of fabric – measuring 2 ½” wide by 8” long NB please take into account the direction of the print. If you are copying this bag you will need to ensure that the pattern runs vertically
2 pieces of wadding 12 ½” wide x 8” high
Instructions
1. Cut fabric as below. I use a ruler and rotary cutter. Measuring strips of fabric. Fat quarter is folded in half to cut 2 at a time.
2. Lay your first piece of fabric, RIGHT side up on to the wadding. If you are using fusible, iron this on. If not, use some of your temporary adhesive to keep this first piece of fabric in place.
3. Line your sewing machine foot up with the right hand side edge of the strip, and sew straight down to the bottom. Starting on the overhang avoids any potential nesting of the threads. (The over hangs will be cut off in a later step, so please don’t worry about them)
4. Sewing down first strip of fabric.
Continue quilting in any way you would like. I have just quilted in straight lines, spaced at ¼” apart. I have used the ¼” foot that came with my machine and lined up the edge of the foot with the previously sewn line of quilting. Shown below:
Lining up the edge of the foot to the first line of sewing, to keep quilting straight.
Repeat this step until you get to the end of your first strip of fabric.
5. Lay your next strip of fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN over the top of your quilted piece. NB : ensure that the direction of the fabric is how you want it.
Second strip of fabric laid right side down over first quilted strip.
6. Sew this piece down, using a ¼” seam on the right hand side.
Second strip of fabric sewn to the first quilted strip.
7. Flip the fabric over, and if using fusible wadding, iron into place. If you are not using fusible fleece, it is not necessary to use spray glue – but if you want to, you can.
Second strip of fabric folded over, ready to begin quilting as before.
8. Now recommence quilting your newly added strip, as you did on the last strip.
Repeat these steps for both pieces of wadding. You can see the overhang of fabric at the top and bottom, and that there may be a piece of wadding left over too. This is fine.
Both wadding pieces fully quilted with strips of fabric.
As you can see, I have alternated the order of my fabrics on the second piece of wadding, so that when the two pieces are eventually joined, the pattern of one peach/pink strip is followed by a white piece.
9. We are now going to trim up these pieces and cut them so that they measure the same size as each other.
Quilted panel trimmed.
10. I then used the left over strips, and sewed them together to make a lining. Again I alternated the fabrics. This is totally optional – you can use one solid piece of fabric – just cut it to the size of your quilted wadding pieces. You will need 2 lining pieces.
Two lining pieces before being trimmed to the same size as quilted panels.
My outer panels and lining pieces ended up being 10 ½” wide by just over 7 ¼” high when trimmed.
To Insert the Zipper
1. Lay one of your quilted pieces face up on the table.
Put your zip, right side down, lined up against the top edge of your quilted panel.
Zipper facing upside down on the right side of quilted panel.
2. Now choose one of your lining panels and place it face down over the top of the quilted panel and zip. NB. Ensure the direction of your fabric is right.
Clip into place.
Lining piece laid over quilted panel and zips. Right sides together.
3. Using a zipper foot, sew along the top of the panel – this will sew the zipper in and the outer quilted panel and the lining together.
Sewing in the zip.
Remove clips as you go.
4. Open up the two pieces of fabric, right side up and iron along the lining fabric piece and the back of the zipper. NB: ensure your iron is not set too hot. You can use steam, once you have pressed this.
Pressing on the lining side, over the zip.
5. Now fold the two panels, so that the lining is behind the quilted panel and the zipper is at the top. Again, give this a press into place.
Lining at the back. Press zipper along the edge of the quilted panel.
6. Now take your panel to the sewing machine, and pull the lining away, as show in the photo and top stitch closely along the edge of your zip. I find that this helps with the ends of the zip not being too distorted when turning the bag at the end of the project.
Top stitching zipper into place on quilted panel only. Lining folded upwards and out of the way.
7. Now take your zipper panel to the table, fold the lining behind the quilted panel.
Take your second quilted panel and place this on top of the first quilted panel with the zipper. Right sides are together. NB ensure that the direction of your fabric is right.
8. Second quilted panel laid over zipper and first quilted panel. Right sides together. Clip in place. Now turn this piece over, so that the lining which is sewed to the zipper is right side up.
9. Take your second lining piece and lay this right sides together over the first lining piece (which is attached to the zip. Lay the top of the lining piece to the top of the zipper tape. This will attach the second quilted piece and the second lining piece to the zipper.
2nd piece of lining right sides together with 1st piece of lining.
10. Take this to your machine, and again using the zipper foot sew along the top edge which will join all 4 pieces of your bag to your zipper.
Sewing zipper in.
11. Once sewn, remove this from your sewing machine and open up to press the zip into place. Now top stitch as before, along the quilted piece only. You may find this easier if you undo the zipper.
12. Once done, place the bag onto your table and put the two quilted panels right sides together and the two lining pieces right sides together.
Line up the sides and the bottoms as best you can.
The zip will twist – you need to clip the zipper teeth so that they are facing towards the lining side of the bag. This is an important step – as it makes the zipper open more.
13. Clip around the bag – ensuring the zipper teeth are facing towards the lining – I have used 2 purple clips which I have circled around to show you the teeth facing the lining.
Remember to unzip your zipper a few inches – otherwise turning will be a little awkward!
The 2 green button shaped pins on the right hand side of the bag are to mark the gap for turning. It is 4”wide.
14. Sew all the way around the bag, leaving the gap for turning as marked by the 2 green button shaped pins.
Zipper teeth facing towards the lining – circled in red.
4” gap left for turning.
Boxing the Corners
We are now going to box the corners of your bag. You do not have to do this if you choose not to. I however prefer boxed bags as they are able to hold more (always important!)
1. Leaving the bag inside out, lay it flat on your table. Line up a ruler in one corner of the bag – you are going to repeat this on all 4 corners, so it does not matter where you start.
2. Measure 1 ½” square and draw around it. Do this on all 4 corners using the same measurement.
3. Then cut the corner squares out.
Your bag will look like this.
4. Now you are going to take the seam on the left hand side of the bag, and the seam on the bottom of the bag. You are going to GENTLY pull the cut square together to make a straight line – thereby boxing the corner of the bag. Clip these 2 raw edges together.
Make sure that the seams line up – and you can push the excess fabric one to the left and one to the right to make the seams “nest”.
Do this to both corners on the bottom of the bag – ensuring that the cut edges are pointing outwards
5. You are now going to sew across the corners using a 1/4 “ seam allowance.
The corner sewn.
Repeat this for all 4 corners. Your bag will still be inside out.
6. Put your hand inside the bag, from the lining piece where you left the turning gap, and unzip the rest of the zipper. Turn the bag, so that it is the right side out. Using a pokey tool – gently push out all of the corners so that they are squared.
Pull the lining out towards you.
7. Pull the seams together where the gap is, and either hand or machine stitch it shut. Push the lining into your bag – and HEY PRESTO!! You did it. One QAYG zipper pouch completed.
Made by Sally Boylett for the Craft Cotton Co 2022