Tie Bag, Version 2.0

After spending two days agonizing over what fabric to use for my enlarged Tokyo Tie Bag, I finally broke down and picked something. I would hate to see what I'd do if I had any difficult decisions to make! I picked a half-yard remnant that had been hanging around here for a good long time--very pretty, but I'm more drawn to cute than pretty I guess. Because I don't need another bag, I thought I'd make it as a birthday gift for my friend and coworker, Taryn. Taryn has a blog of her own, Awake and Painting, which is very thoughtful and serene--give it a visit and see how talented she is!

Needing somewhere to start, I figured I'd enlarge the original measurements by roughly 25%. Well, don't ask me what went wrong, but somehow I bungled that. The pouch part of the bag should measure closer to 9 inches, instead of eight. That, however, would result in shorter straps, which I wouldn't be happy with either, so I would just add a little length to the bottom and call it a day.

Now, like I said, the remnant was a half yard. That got me to thinking that it would be great if I could enlarge this pattern, but still have it fit into a half yard of fabric. The critical measurement would be the overall length, from the top of the handle to the bottom of the bag. If you figure most fabrics are 45 inches wide, the maximum overall measurement would have to be 22.5 inches. If you want a smaller bag, that would work, but I have no use for small bags. Instead, I think I'm going to fiddle around with adding seams on the sides and see if I can't get a good sized bag out of half yards. Next time!

Step one is to cut four pieces with the long edge on the fold, 2 out of the main fabric, 2 of the lining. Wait, step one is to make sure your kitty knows you love and adore her. Then put her in the hallway and close the door.

Okay, first step: With right sides together, sew a seam up each side of the main fabric, then do the same with the lining fabric. Iron the seams, and position them so they run down the center front of the bag.

Next, turn the main fabric right side out and slip it into the lining fabric, so you end up with right sides together.

Line up the center seams and the top edges of the fabric and start pinning the main fabric to the lining. You'll end up making one continuous loop, up one side of a handle, down the other, then up the other handle, etc.

Once it's all pinned, you sew along that same edge. Start at the center seam, go up and around one handle, etc. It's all one seam.

Now take the time to clip the curves. Blech. I hate doing that, but you really should.

Now you get to turn the whole thing right side out and iron it!

Leave the bag just as it is (right side out) and sew a quarter inch seam across the bottom. Or sew halfway across and run out of bobbin thread and swear a lot about how that always happens and why can't you ever just finish something without making a new bobbin? Sigh.

Once that's done, trim along the seam a little if you think you need to, then turn the bag inside out and sew another seam, this time a half inch, across the bottom, which means the raw edge is encased in the seam, aka a French seam.

Turn the bag right side out, AGAIN, and tie a square knot in the handles.

Finally, add some sort of closure. If you plan ahead, you can do the button with a loop of elastic. A button and buttonhole would work too. Or velcro. An added flap would be cute. I went old school and used a snap.

And there you have it! This is how it compares to the original. It's a more usable size, but I'd still like to see it deeper. Watch for version 2.1, coming soon!