Funky PolkaDot Giraffe Blog PAR-TAY Day 5: TUTORIAL

Hi, I'm Amy and I'm super excited to guest post on Funky Polkadot Giraffe. This is my first guest post so hopefully I won't disappoint. I have just started sewing a lot in the past month or so and I've been having a great time. My grandmother has been a seamstress for decades and I'm proud to say that she's inspired me to start doing it myself.

Now for aa little bit about me. I have been married for the past 8 years (almost 9) and we have two children. I own my own business where I make hand stamped jewelry and specialize in heirloom pieces. I love creating items that the recipient can cherish for years to come. I've just started adding my sewn goods to the shop as well. I have a blog where I post just about everything: crafts, jewelry, sewing, tutorials, recipes, family pictures, ideas I love from other blogs and more. I hope you'll come visit.

On to the tutorial! I used four different patterns of fabric, but feel free to use as many as you want to make the bag as eclectic as you choose. I did interface some of the pieces to make it a little more sturdy.

Ingredients:
A. 3 pieces of 4"x15"
B. 2 outside pieces of 9"x12.5" (interfaced)
C. 2 lining pieces of 9"x12.5"
D. 1 pocket of 7"x9" (interfaced)
E. 1 pocket of 4"x6" (interfaced)
F. 1 ruffle cover of 2.25"x9"
G. 1 shoulder strap of 4"x56"
One zipper

1. Fold over all 4 edges of piece E about 1/4", press, and double over the top edge, pressing again.
2. Sew along the top edge of piece E.
3. Pin piece E to one of the lining pieces (C), centered on the fabric. Stitch it to the lining on the three edges, leaving the top open.
4. Fold over the top edge of the larger pocket (D) 1/4", press, then fold over again and press. Make a seam along the top of the pocket.

5. Place pocket D on top of the second lining piece (C), lined up with the sides and bottom. Stitch a seam in the middle from the bottom of the bag to the top of the pocket.
6. Create the ruffles with the 3 A pieces by folding them over, wrong sides together and stitching a long seam by hand (knot one end of the thread). Pull the thread until the ruffle is 9" wide. Pin the first ruffle 1/2" from the bottom of the first outside piece (B). Sew the ruffle onto the lining with a 1/4" seam and then remove the straight stitch used to make the ruffle.
7. Repeat with the other two ruffles.
8. Fold over both long edges of the ruffle cover (F) 1/2" and press. Pin on top of the raw edge of the top ruffle and sew along the top and bottom of the ruffle cover.

9. Layer a lining (C) face up, zipper up, outside piece (B) down. Sew along the zipper, making sure you use the zipper foot to get close to the zipper.
10. Flip the lining and outer fabric and sew along the edge to hold it down.
11. Repeat with the second lining piece and outer fabric.
12. Flip the fabrics over and sew along the edge.

13. Open the zipper. Pin the lining pieces together and the outer pieces together. Starting 2" from the side along the bottom edge of the lining, sew a 3/8" seam all the way around the lining and outer pieces, leaving about 4" along the bottom of the lining open for turning.
14. Clip the excess zipper.
15. Turn the bag right side out, pulling the lining all of the way out.
16. Fold over the open edges and sew. You can sew this closed by hand with a matching thread if you'd like to hide the seam.

17. Push the lining inside.
18. The finished bag.
19. Assemble the shoulder strap by putting long edges together and sewing a seam down the length of the strap. I had to use three pieces of fabric to make my strap.
20. Turn the strap right side out by using a safety pin attached to one short edge.

21. Press the strap flat with the seam in the middle.
22. Fold over the raw edges by 1/2". Repeat on the second side.
23. Sew all of the way around the strap, very close to the edge.
24. Make yours a little prettier than mine!

25. Attach the strap to the bag at the ends about 2" down. I sewed a square and made an X in the middle. I'm not going to lie, this was tricky and not easy at all to do.
26. All done! Ready to use and I am using it!

I decided to add a bow at the last minute. I didn't like how the strap was laying so I used my ribbon, added fray check to the ends and did a bow on both sides. If anything doesn't make sense, please feel free to contact me via my blog. Thanks for checking out my tutorial and be sure to stop by and see me sometime!

P.S. From Kyla :)
I was lucky enough to win on of Amy's
beautiful hand stamped necklaces
from a giveaway on 30 Days.
It is fantastic.
And I personalized it with one of my favorite sayings.
Holla!
I can attest to her awesomeness.
Christmas is coming up.
I think you should check her out.