Knitting Bag Tutorial with Guest Buffy of Passionate Design

we've got a few special posts for this holiday weekend. i love my readers here on luvinthemommyhood and versus. i love seeing and hearing about what you all are making. what fun is it to craft and then not show off your handiwork? i know i'm not that only one who believes in sharing & showing so i thought it might be fun to have a few readers of mine guest post this weekend.

do you remember me mentioning a few weeks back the new knitting bag that my pal buffy sent me? it was such a sweet surprise to get in the mail from one of the sweetest ladies i know. thank you again so very much buffy! luv ya hun!

this knitting bag of mine rocks. it's perfect for sitting beside me on the couch, on the floor, on the table at knit night. it holds just the right amount to quickly bring along with me to whip out a few rows in the parking lot at my daughter's preschool (yes, i do this) or any other place i think i may just get my knit on at. when you need something just big enough for a project or two this bag is the perfect fit. not too big and not too small. so without further ado i'm going to take my poor voiceless, sick self off to rest and let buffy finish telling you all about how to make your very own knitting bag....


Hi luvinthemommyhood readers! I've been a reader for a while and a several months ago I worked up the courage to email Shannon, who is perfectly friendly and absolutely a doll. However, I love to share so I begged Shannon to let me come on and share with you all my absolute favorite knitting bag, to which she heartily agreed! This is my go-to gift for any knitter because it is, well perfect and nothing is more cozy than settling down in my comfy couch and a super cute bag at my feet bursting at the seams with yarn.

With all the knitting goodies that I make around here I'm always needing just one more bag to keep myself just a little more organized…well as organized as a right-brained girl can get! The best part is that there isn't any Velcro, snaps, zippers or buttons! Yup, no stressing about the closures at all. Woo Hoo!


So let's get started.

What you'll need:

1/2 yd fabric*

1/2 yd fabric* for lining1 yd heavy fusible interfacingthreadpins

pencil or fabric marker
ruler
safety pin

*Note: Fabric must be at least 44 inches wide (before washing) for you to get this out of 1/2 a yard. If your fabric isn't wide enough you can get 2 bags out of a yard of each fabric but not 1 out of 1/2 a yard.

Pieces:

Front & Back 10" x 12" - cut 2 of both fabrics & interfacing

Sides 5" x 12" - cut 2 of both fabrics & interfacing

Bottom 10" x 5" - cut 1 of both fabrics & interfacing

Ties 1.5" x 42" - cut 2 out of lining fabric

Pocket (optional) - I just use whatever rectangle shape I have left over from cutting out the lining fabric. The pocket shown below measured 9.5" x 6"

All seams are 1/4 inch unless otherwise noted.

After cutting out your pieces iron interfacing to all outer fabric pieces. Then you'll prepare pocket for the lining.

When I do pockets I fold down the top about an inch and the bottom a 1/2 inch right sides together then sew a 1/4 inch from the the sides. Then I clip the corners, turn the top and bottom out and iron so it looks like this:

Then I simply stitch the top seam to enclose the ends.

I love the look of double stitching on pockets. However you can prep your pocket however you like.

Now you'll want to sew your pocket to front/back piece of lining.

You want to place the pocket at least 2 inches below the top of the lining, as you have to have room for the casing. You can sew dividing lines as I have done or go without, your choice.

Now you get to set the lining fabric aside and start working with the outer fabric. Take one side and one front and place right sides together, if your fabric has a direction make sure you match it up correctly. Then place a pin 3/4 of an inch from the top, another pin an inch below the first pin and then one more pin 1/4 from the bottom.

You will sew to the first pin then back stitch, cut threads and then start again at the second pin then stop again at the last pin. Yes there will be a hole in the seam, it is on purpose! I like to use green and red tipped pins, the red ones I place where I'm supposed to stop and the green ones mark where I'm supposed to start again.

After you've finished sewing the side to the front, press you seam open. Then top stitch 1/8 of an inch away from either side of the seam, from top to bottom no stops. The key to top stitching well is to go s-l-o-w-l-y.

You will have enclosed the hole in your seam which will be an opening for the casing. A button hole of sorts, with out the strife. Continue like this for each seam, sewing sides to front/back pieces into a circle. When top stitching the final seam when your bag is in a circle keep the right side of the fabric on the inside of the bag, this makes it much easier to top stitch an not sew the whole bag together.

This is how it looked on my machine:

Now you get to attach the bottom of the bag. Pin your bottom piece to the bottom edge of one side and sew together starting and stopping 1/4 inch from each edge. Now prepare the second edge (for my picture I am doing a side. Pin the pieces together and form a right triangle with the side already seamed as shown below:

Begin seam in the seam line and sew to a 1/4 inch from edge. Repeat for remaining two sides, remembering to press your seams between each step.

Congrats! You now have your front done. Repeat all of the above steps to put the lining together, omitting only you don't have to start and stop as for the front to make your casing holes, just start at the top and sew to 1/4 inch from bottom edge. Also, you can leave out the top stitching (you can still do it if you like).

Now with both the front and lining finished. Sew together at top edge, leaving a 5-6 inch gap for turning.

Turn and place lining inside bag. Press and sew a 1/8 inch around the top of bag to close up hole and make pretty top stitching.

Next with a ruler draw stitching lines for casing. You want the top line to be perpendicular to the top of the casing holes and the bottom line parallel to the top line like so:

Sew on the lines to make casing.

Now to make your ties. Fold ties in half right sides together and stitch.

Turn right side out and press. Now thread your first tie through the casing in a C- shape around one side of the bag. Start at one corner, pass through the front, opposite side, and then the back coming out of the hole. Your tie should be through 3 of the four sides. Take your second tie and repeat starting at the opposite corner. When you are finished, both ties should be through the front and back but only one on each side.

Now tie your ends together. I like to leave the tie ends unfinished but you can always finish them up if you prefer.

And you're finished! So fill it up with your fave knitting book or mag. Max out the space with oh-so-soft yarn and don't forget your needles. Then pull the ties to close it up, now your ready to go out the door!

Thanks again Shannon for letting me join in!

thank you buffy, for sharing this awesome pattern. we got lots of requests on how to make it on luvinthemommyhood so i know we all apprecaite you taking the time to share. you can find more about buffy on her blog passionate design where she writes about life with her 5 children under 7 (i don't know how she does it??!) and all her crafty endeavors. go pop over and say a big hello and make sure to enter your name in to win the very knitting bag shown in this post!

what do you carry your knitting in? what's your project bag of choice? what fabric would you make this in? let's chat!