Snappy Bag and GO

This is the fourth project in my Accuquilt Die Challenge.  I am using the 2" square die and the Funky Flower Die to make my Snappy bag.

I wanted to make a black and white bag so I gathered all my black and white scraps and placed them on the die rolled them through and very quickly ended up with all these nice little 2" squares.

 I arranged them in the order I wanted and sewed them together into little rows.  Then I sewed the rows together to make my bag front and back.

I pressed the rows on one piece going up and  the rows on the other piece going down so the seams would butt together when I assembled my bag.

Next I got out my Funky Flower die and fabric.

I ironed a piece of Lite Steam-A-Seam2 to the back of my fabric and ran it through the cutter to get these cute little flower shapes.  I placed them on the front of my bag ironed them down and stitched around the edges.

The next step was to stabilize the bag so I ironed a piece of fusible interfacing to the back of both pieces.

 I wanted to have a little black trim on the front of my bag so I sewed a piece of black fabric to the top of the bag

and since this is the casing the metal tape is going through I reinforced it with some batting.  I also trimmed the batting out of the seam allowance to eliminate some thickness.Next I cut two pieces of lining fabric the same size as the bag front and back and sewed them to the black fabric

  

I  made a simple pocket and sewed it to the lining before sewing the bag together.  I also made little loops for my strap to go through but failed to take pictures.

I wanted the bottom of my bag to be curved so I used my masking tape roll to draw a curve stitching    line on both corners---- put the bag right sides together and sewed  around the edges leaving an opening in the bottom of the lining to turn the bag through.

 I cut my metal tape the width of the bag top curved the ends and covered them with clear duct tape.
Then I  folded the top of the bag down  to cover the tape and have enough to stitch down.

I cut a piece of black fabric for the strap 4 times the width of the finished strap.  Pressed it in half  opened it and pressed each side to the center and stitched down both sides. Put the strap through the loops and tied an overhand knot.

Check out the tutorial for the
Snappy Bag on my blog for a little more direction.
This is not a pattern and you should use your own sizes and materials for your bag if you make one.

Snappy Bag Tutorial

                                                                                   This will be my first time posting a tutorial.

We'll see how it goes.

I have been reading on some of the list about Snap Bags and I thought I would post how I made one.

You will need two - 8 1/2 inch square Scrappy blocks or a piece of fabric 8 1/2 by 16 1/2. 
I didn't use interfacing or batting in my bag because the strips were already so thick - but you could if you wanted to!

A piece of Lining 8 1/2 by 16 1/2 inches.

Two pieces of metal measuring tape one inch shorter
than the width of the finished bag.
Round off the sharp corners and cover with tape..

This will keep the metal from poking through the fabric.

First you want to sew the two blocks together. I used a 1/4 inch seam.

Then pin the blocks to the lining - placing the right sides together.

Sew all around the bag leaving an opening for turning on one of the short ends.

Trim the corners and turn the bag right side out..

Press well and turn down 1 1/4" on both short ends.

Stitch across the 1 1/4 inch you turned down. Leave the ends open.
You may want to use thread that matches your fabric.

I used white so it would show up in the picture.

Now you need to insert the metal tape. Make sure the numbers face the right side of the bag.
If you don't put the tape in right you won't get the snap that closes your bag. Put a piece of tape in both ends of the bag.

Make sure the tape is 1/2 inch shorter than the bag on each end. You don't want to sew over it when you sew the sides of the bag together.

With right sides together sew the sides of the bag.

I find it easier to start sewing from the bottom of the bag.

After the sides are sewn together you make the bottom. To do this make a mark about 1 inch up from the bottom on both sides.

Center the bottom of the bag over the side seam and stitch across both ends where you made the mark.

Turn right side out and you are finished!


There are many things you could do with this simple pattern.  You could add batting or interfacing to make the bag have more body.  I have seen them made with beads or tabs to help pull them open.  They could also be made smaller or larger.

All instructions are written with the best intent and are only a personal account of the sewing of my bag.
I hope the instructions are not too confusing. 
If you do have problems be sure to let me know.
I would be glad to answer any questions you might have.
If you use my tutorial to make a bag I would love to see the pictures and please give me credit for the instructions.