DIY Bags: Now With Lining!

Sorry I've been absent for so long.  Let me just clear away the cobwebs and we'll get back to it. Dan and I have been running a little Bed and Breakfast for the past two weeks. First we had my good friend and former bridesmaid Abigail visit. Then, the day after she left, my in-laws joined us. They left yesterday, so now I have time to sort through the 400 pictures I took while they were here!

In the meantime, let me tell you about a little sewing project that Abigail and I worked on: double-sided gift bags. I'm really getting into this now! It's so fun to pick out fabric and turn it in to something fun and useful. It's a whole new world for me.

DIY Gift Bag

Abigail doesn't know how to sew but thought it would be fun to learn. On the day she arrived, we went into town and stopped by my favorite fabric store. We spent more than an hour oogling all the fabric choices. I already knew how to make a simple gift bag, but the kind ladies at the shop gave me some tips for how to line the inside of the bag with a coordinating fabric.

When we got home, we tested out the new technique on some scrap fabric. The first thing we did was measure and cut two equal strips of the fabrics.

Then we sewed them together across the horizontal seam on the "bad" side of the fabric. This picture shows them facing up. 

Here's where we learned our first lesson. You should pin your "inside" fabric (the one you want as the liner) on top of the "outside" fabric. We did it the opposite way in our test run and it meant that inside fabric peeked out a little bit when we were making our hem.

Next, fold the fabric in half vertically and sew along three sides, keeping the top of the inside fabric open.

Turn the whole thing inside out and sew the last side closed. At this point I was confused how it would turn into a bag, but stay with me. It does!

Now push the inside lining down into the outside fabric. They should fit right into each other, forming a lined bag!

Home-made lined gift bag

Hem the top, just like you do for a regular bag and you're done!

Our practice round went so well that we went for it with our real fabric.

My super girly fabric choices

Iron at every stage! It helps!

I made a quart-sized bag to hold all of my bits and bobs in my purse. I love having my lipstick, advil, vaseline, and other odds and ends in one easy-to-access place.

I also made little gifts for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Rose, my mom-in-law, got a small drawstring pouch that she now uses for holding her daily vitamins. Amy, my sis-in-law, got a home-made iPod case. I think this one turned out pretty cute.

DIY iPod case

And the sewing adventures continue!