It's been a while since I road tested a bag pattern. Really I should do more, because A) they are more likely to be of use to my readers because there's no sizing or fit issues to contend with, B) they're a great scrap buster, C) they make great gifts, and D) I could do with a couple more bags in my life. Anyway, Pinterest threw up this cute ruffle bag tutorial by The Fabric Store the other day, and it seemed like a great project to showcase some precious woven fabric offcuts.
The pattern is easy to access and download, without having to go through a checkout. The instructions are in the form of a blog post. Thanks, as always, to all the fabric designers and companies sharing resources with the sewing community for free.
(image source: The Fabric Store)
Pattern type:
This pattern and tutorial are for a cute, lined drawstring bag with an internal pocket. The drawstrings form the handles, and there's a ruffle detail that runs along the joining edge of the bag.
Sizing info:
The finished bag is about 36cm wide, from outer ruffle edge to outer ruffle edge when open. However, you could easily adjust your printer settings to make it bigger or small, or even draft you're own shape/size once you've got an idea of the original pattern pieces.
Fabric info:
As long as you're using a roughly-mid weight woven fabric, I think you've got quite a lot of scope with fabric suitability. The examples they made for the tutorial used self-fabric for the lining and pocket. I used scraps of this gorgeous embroidered cotton lawn for the outer bag, and sections from the selvedge for the drawstring.
For the ruffle, lining and pocket, I used some plain solid white cotton lawn from my stash. If your fabric is on the heavier side, I'd go with a lighter weight fabric for lining so it won't struggle too much to gather when closing the bag up. But please note that any contrast lining you pick will be visible at the very top opening of the bag.
No haberdashery or fastenings are required, but you could use rope or cord for the drawstring if you didn't fancy making that out of fabric.
Findings:
I need to say up top, this is a great pattern that is easy to access and the instructions are illustrated with clear photos of many of the steps.However, I must admit so I was fresh out of pattern testing for Fabric Godmother when I made these notes, so having just been in that headspace, it's going to sound like I'm nit-picking a bit. If you're a confident sewer, none of these points would likely prevent you from having a fun time making a cute bag. But there are definitely a few details missing that could have made the process smoother, and subsequently potentially more beginner-friendly.
The first thing I noticed is that there is no mention of how much seam allowance to use. Which is fine but probably expected these days by anyone used to sewing from a sewing pattern. Also, it wasn't clear exactly where you should align the ends of the ruffle when pinning it to the outer bag. An additional notch would have helped here.
The instructions missed out explaining where to start and stop stitching when you're sewing both outer bags together along the curved edge, and also sewing the lining pieces. I ended up having to unpick sections because I assumed you started at and finished sewing at the top edge. I also don't understand why the instructions call for finishing/neatening the curved edges of both the outer bag and the lining, if the bag is literally going to be lined.
Finally, and this is tiny, but it could have mentioned snipping away the points before you turn the bag through so you get neater corners.
And one change I made was to make the inner pocket from two layers of fabric, turned through. I also added bar tacks at the top of the pocket opening on both sides to strengthen it against me chucking my phone in it repeatedly.
Would I make it again?
Overall, I'm super happy with my little bag. I'm a bit scared of actually using something white in my day to day life, as I'm pretty sure it's going to get filthy very quickly. I do think the ruffle is a tiny bit oversized, so I'll scale that down a little next time, and possibly make the whole bigger and the drawstring/straps longer. But, Yes! I would definitely make this type of bag again if I had suitable fabric to use up. I might also make one as a little laundry bag for overnight trips.
