Paper Piecing Star Bag

A project to start with paper piecing and make a simple bag

Posted by Maria P.

About

When I see my pupils at my needlecraft school, The Crafty Room, I feel like making things. This time it has happened to me with the paper piecing, so with a few scraps of a beautiful cloth I bought in Japan I have made a star and with it, a bag.

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You Will Need (7 things)

  • Interlining
  • Freezer Paper
  • Cotton Thread
  • Embroidery Thread
  • Magnetic Closure
  • A Button
  • Cotton Fabric

Steps (11 steps, 360 minutes)

  1. 1

    Print the diamond template, which you can download from here: https://app.box.com/s/c7hkmoqb5biairmzzqi2oou79eqgrfrl. Cut 7 diamonds out on freezer paper and 7 on fabric with seam allowance. Iron the fabric diamonds folding the seam allowances and "wrapping" the freezer paper diamonds and sew them with hidden stitch.

  2. 2

    Then, move the paper away.

  3. 3

    Next cut:
    Four squares of 13.3’’ x 13.3’’, two on the lining and two in the outside fabric, with seam allowance.
    For the handle, a piece of 39’’ x 2’’ of the outside fabric with seam allowance.
    For the pocket, a rectangle of 5.5’’ x 3.9’’ with seam allowance.
    Two squares of 13.3’’ x 13.3’’ and a piece of 1m x 5 cm. of interlining without seam allowance.

  4. 4

    Iron the margins of the pocket and sew it on one of the lining squares, centring it and at about 3.1’’ from the top edge.

  5. 5

    Next, sew separately the fabrics of the lining and the outside fabrics by the sides and the bottom, placing right sides faced. If the interlining is adhesive stick it before to the inside fabric and if not, sew it at this moment together with the fabric. To make the base of the bag, place the edges of the fabrics once sewed as you can see in the photo, mark a perpendicular line to the seam at 1.6’’ from the corner, sew along this line and cut leaving a margin of 0.4’’.

  6. 6

    Sew the star on the outside fabric with hidden stitch.

  7. 7

    Make a decorative running stitch on the seams of the star and sew a button in the center.

  8. 8

    Now, it is time to make the handle: place the interlining, iron the seam allowances, fold and iron the piece in half and sew it.

  9. 9

    To assemble the bag, put the lining inside out and place the outside fabric by the face inside it, matching the side seams, where you place the handles, within, between one fabric and the other. Sew finishing the handles off and leaving two gaps, to turn the inside out and to place the bag closer.

  10. 10

    Turn the pieces inside out, keeping the outside fabric and the handles out and place the magnetic closer on the inside fabric together with the interlining, making sure that both parts match.

  11. 11

    Finally, make a backstitching at about 0.2’’ from the edge of the bag.