Bag Lady

In this two day workshop you will make a bag, the size will be your choice, lined and with inner pockets, You will also make embellishments to stitch on, e.g. log cabin patches, screen printed text, free motion embroidered flowers, whatever takes your fancy to make your bag uniquely yours. You will also be able to choose to have leather handles or fabric.
There is an opportunity for participants who have done the first bag workshop to make a more advanced bag, for this the requirements are the same as the list plus, a 20”, or 22” zip, plus the Fabric: you can make the bag, each piece a different colour and quality although not too much difference in weight, the main body of the bag is 18” square and the longest pieces are 24” cut on the fold so 48” but you can always piece to make your strips plus base and end pieces. You also need the same amount in calico and lining.
Student requirements
Sewing machine, feed dogs down and embroidery foot (if you want to use this technique).
Zipper & buttonhole feet
Basic sewing kit
Pencil and paper
Selection of fabrics, the amount depends on the size of choice of bag/bags! (you may make more than 1)
Roughly 2½ times the size. I make from pieces lying around and stitch them together.
Fabric for lining
Interfacing/Vilene
Wadding/batting
Selection of threads
8” zip if there’s time we will also make a pouch, the length of the zip determines the width of your pouch less half an inch or so, so if you want to make it larger or smaller bring the size zip you would like to use.
Optional, waxed/waterproof fabric if you want to use it for the base of the bag. Available from Cowslip. (½ metre will be plenty)
We will make the handles from fabric but if you want to add a leather strap, Merchant and Mills sell hardware kits, includes leather strap, d rings and rivets and there are websites that sell ready made leather handles.
I have some I can bring and belts from charity shops are all an option. But you can make a very strong fabric handles
http://www.bagmakingsupplies.co.uk/
Fabrics, they don’t need to be too heavyweight but fairly substantial and you can use fabrics from Cowslip and interlining or wadding if your bag is quilted to make it stronger, or fabrics from your own stash.
Make sure your electrical equipment (sewing machine) has been recently PAT tested.