The Mission
Recreate the bag that I normally take with me to Europe.
The bag is pretty easy to take with me on trips, because by itself it weighs next to nothing. The canvas (I think) is pretty sturdy, and I don’t have to worry about it getting dirty.
It’s pretty big, too. Big enough for both of our Kindles, one or more bottles of water, and potentially small items purchased along the way.
MM and I tend to trade off carrying the satchel, depending on how heavy it is at any given time. MM, however, asked if it would be possible to replicate it, so that he and I could both share the load. Hence the mission. 🙂
The Method
I already had the canvas at home, a remnant that seemed to be enough for my uses. Therefore, all I needed was… everything else. Binding, magnetic snaps, webbing for the strap, and lining material, not to mention the components to make the strap adjustable.
The light gray is the heavier fabric, a canvas, possibly duck. The darker is more of a blue gray, with a slight pattern. Something interesting, but not girly.
Deciding to try to actually make an effort to proceed with intent, I purchased grid interfacing material to draw out the pattern, instead of relying on hand drawing the pieces to cut out.
You’ll see there are four pattern pieces. However, the panel piece was actually used to cut the back panel, and the two pieces of the front panel (if you squint, you can see the line situated just below the center. Each of the pieces were used to cut from the canvas, as well as one or more pieces of the lining.
For this bag, I’m using the following dimensions:
Outside
- Back Panel (1) – 14″Wx14″L
- Front Upper Panel (1) – 6.75″Lx14″W
- Front lower Pocket (1) – 17.5″Lx7.5W
- Side/Bottom pieces (2) – 3.5″Wx19.5″L
- Flap (1) – 14″Lx13″W (tapers to 13″ where attached)
Inside
- Front/Back/Dividing Panel (4) – 14″Wx14″L
- Front pocket lining (1) – 17.5″Lx7.5″W
- Front lower panel (1) – 7.25″Lx14″W
The Execution
To prepare, I created the pattern pieces. Really, it was a matter of measuring the finished bag, then adding the seam allowance. The curved corners I free-handed, then traced each time they were needed. I had to make sure to measure widths at the top as well as the bottom of the piece, especially with the flap.
Second was making the bias tape. I went looking for something that was pre-made, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I ended up getting about 12 inches of a black cotton twill, and making it myself. Check this page out for a great tutorial and video. Worked like a charm!
Now on to the actual piecing together of the bag.
First up was making the pocket. I put together the two pieces of the pocket, the lining and the outside. I basted the two together, then used handmade bias tape to finish the top edge. With that complete, I took care of creating the pleats that allow the pockets to have space. I also took a couple seconds to create a dart near the top of each pocket to close up the pockets just a bit.
You’ll notice one glaring issue – no fasteners. I actually had to rip out a couple seams to get the magnetic snaps into place. You’ll see a picture of them later, but honestly, they should have gone in here, between the lining and the outside, probably somewhere around the point that the binding goes on the top.
Then it was time to put the front panel together. Used lining for the lower half of the panel, and just did a simple seam across.
Once the panel is made, it’s time to attach the pocket to the front panel. I did make sure I figured out the halfway mark at the bottom, so that I could place the pocket appropriately. You’ll also notice in the picture that the magnetic snaps are placed and secure.
Now it’s time to attach the two pieces I created for the sides/bottom, and the back panel. Pretty straightforward – attach the two side/bottom pieces in the center, then add a little top-stitching (which also serves to “finish” the seam allowance). Match up that center seam to the center of the front and back panels.
Next up was making the flap. I ended up stitching across the top of the two panels (where the flap would be attached to the bag), then attaching the other sides of the snaps to the lining portions. Once those two steps are complete, I used the bias tape to surround the raw edges.
Here’s where the pictures aren’t going to line up with what I should have done. I should have attached the flap before doing anything else. Instead, I forgot what I was doing and just went ahead and added the bias tape to the top edge of the bag. Why is that so bad? Because I hadn’t added the lining yet.
There was a fair amount of ripping out that particular continuous seam…
AAAAAANNNNNNNYWay…..
When you see the next few pictures, please ignore the bias tape around the top of the bag. 🙂
I attached the flap about an inch or so below the top edge of the bag and stitched it into place, top of the flap against the back of the bag. Then, I folded the flap up, using the seam as my “fold point”, and stitched the flap so that it would close correctly.
See?
Now it’s time to do either the lining or start handling the straps. Yeah… I’m not a fan of straps, so lining it is!
I ended up having two panels that were the same size as the outside panels, and two that were about 1.25″ shorter. The shorter panels were to be sewn together, topped with bias tape, and used as a divider on the inside.
Meanwhile, the two side/bottom panels were cut in half lengthwise so that I could insert the divider panel. To clarify:
- Cut out two side/bottom panels in the lining fabric
- Cut each of those in half lengthwise
- Sew two of the side/bottom panels together at the short ends, and repeat that with the other two
You now have all the pieces of the lining ready to assemble. At this point, I took the two halved side/bottom panels and sewed each onto a full sized panel. Once that was complete, I sewed the raw edge of the side/bottom panel/full panel assembly onto the divider panel. See? (The picture below is a tad deceptive, since I put one of the assemblies inside the other.)
Before I could add the lining to the bag, I needed to at least take care of attaching the rings for the strap on each side of the satchel. I don’t have any pictures of this, because they were frustrating, and I really wanted to move on when I got them attached. Make sure, if you’re doing this, that you have a way to stop fraying for any type of strap material you use. I used about 4 inches on each side of the bag, making a loop to enclose a rectangle ring.
Once that was done, I was ready to add the lining! I inserted the lining into the bag, wrong side to wrong side, lining up the main seams. Then I pinned the binding around, and made the first seam. Making sure to iron the bias tape up toward the raw edge, then iron it folded in half, I then sewed the seam to close it. Just to make sure it stayed closed, I sewed another seam around, about 1/4″ away from the original. I ended up really liking that, too. It added a little decoration.
You’ll see in the above picture, that I also had the strap done. This part took me a little time, because the strap material I used was heavily patterned, which made it very, very thick. My machine was not a fan, and I had to go very slowly.
But, it’s done!
So, what do you think? How was my recreation?