FREE! Kids Activity Bag Sewing Tutorial by Nancy Zieman

FREE! Kids Activity Bag Sewing Tutorial by Nancy Zieman

Many fabric bags or fabric totes for kids’ toys can be rather wimpy. Have you ever put toys and books in a fabric bag and the parts and pieces went missing in the bottom of the bag? A few years ago, after purchasing adorable finger puppets for her granddaughters, Nancy Zieman knew the finger puppets needed a new “stand up” home in a NEW! Kids Activity Bag – designed by Nancy!

 Visit shopnzp.com for timesaving tools and sewing supplies to complete your sewing projects!

Fabric and Supplies:

• Four coordinating fat-quarters: One fat quarter for the Kids Activity Bag lower outer bag, one fat quarter for the lower inner bag, one fat quarter for the upper bag, and one fat quarter for the outer pocket.
• 2 yards 3/8″ or 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon
• 3/8 yard Pellon Peltex Ultra Firm Sew-in Stabilizer
• Clover’s 45mm Rotary Cutter, Cutting Mat, & Ruler
• Clover’s Flower Head Pins
• Clover’s Wonder Clips
• Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
• Clover’s 7-3/4″ Bordeaux Ultimate Shears
• Clover’s I Sew For Fun Seam Ripper
• Schmetz Universal Size 80 Needle
  
• June Tailor’s® Starch Savvy
• Seam Stick

  If you’d like a taller top closure like the activity bag pictured below (front), purchase three fat quarters plus 1/3 yard of a fourth coordinating fabric, in this instance, the yellow striped fabric.

Prepare Fabrics:

     Pre-shrink project fabrics by steaming and pressing, and steaming and pressing a second time, and then spray starch and press one more time – using June Tailor’s® Starch Savvy.

Stitch Nancy’s Kids Activity Bag:

All seam allowances are 1/2″, unless otherwise noted.

Approximate Finished Size 6″ x 6″ x 10″.

• Fold two fat quarters, wrong sides together, meeting short ends – and trim off selvage edges with a 45mm rotary cutter. Unfold fabrics. These fabrics will be used as the outer and inner lower bags.

• Stack fabrics with folds at bottom. Using a 45mm rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat cut four 10″ x 13″ rectangles, trimming away the folds at fabric bottom: Cut two outer lower bag rectangles, and two inner (lining) lower bag rectangles. Cut out 3″ squares at both lower bag corners, as shown in photo below.

• Place two outer lower bag rectangles right sides together. Pin at lower edge.
• Using a Schmetz Universal Size 80 Needle stitch bottom seam with 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seam open.

• Using the stitched lower bag unit as a pattern, trace and cut out one layer of Pellon Peltex – the same size of the sewn outer lower bag. Using Clover’s Flower Head Pins, pin Peltex to wrong side of outer lower bag unit.

• Zigzag or baste outer edges of bag unit to Pellon Peltex, stitching around all outer edges.
  
• Place two inner/lining lower bag rectangles right sides together. Pin at lower edge. Stitch with 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seam open.

• Using a 45mm rotary cutter cut a 9″ x 13″ rectangle from the third fat quarter. This will later become the outer pocket.
• Fold rectangle, right sides together – meeting long edges.
• Stitch the long edge seam with 1/2″ seam allowance. Leave short ends un-stitched and open!

• Turn pocket rectangle right side out. Press seam open over a Seam Stick.
• Overlay pocket rectangle to right side of lower outer bag. Using Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge, place pocket rectangle 5/8″ above lower edge of lower outer bag. Pin.
• With a Schmetz Universal Size 80 Needle, edgestitch pocket rectangle to outer lower bag – along side edges and bottom seam. Leave top edge of pocket rectangle un-stitched and open!

• Place outer lower bag unit right sides together. Pin or Wonder Clip at side seams.
• Stitch side seams with 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seams open over a Seam Stick.

• Place inner/lining lower bag unit right sides together. Pin or Wonder Clip at side seams.
• Stitch side seams with 1/2″ seam allowance. Press seams open over a Seam Stick.

• With outer lower bag right sides together, stack one seam over center bottom seam. Wonder Clip. 

• Stitch lower corner “gusset” seam with 1/4″ seam allowance.
• Repeat steps above, and stitch all four lower “gusset” seams on outer lower bag, and inner/lining lower bag.

• Turn lower outer bag right side out.
• Tuck lining inside outer lower bag, with wrong sides together. Wonder Clip.
  
• Zigzag or serge along top edge of lower bag.

Stitch upper bag unit:

• Cut two 10″ x 13″ rectangles from fourth fat quarter (Or cut two 12″ x 13″ rectangles, from 1/3 yd. fabric, for longer upper bag option).
• Fold rectangles in half, wrong sides together, meeting long 13″ edges.
• Press at folds, pressing in a memory line for later!

• Unfold the rectangles and align rectangles, right sides together.
• Stitch the 10″ side seams with 1/2″ seam allowances. Press seams open over a Seam Stick.

• Turn right sides out. Re-fold along the pressed memory lines.
• Zigzag or serge along lower edge of upper bag.

• Edgestitch around bag top edge, along folded edge. Topstitch a second time around bag top edge at 1″ from folded edge – this creates a casing for the ribbon! (Be sure the distance between the stitching lines is at least 3/4″ and slightly wider than ribbon).
• Back stitch at both seam intersections – along both bag side seams/edges (This is really important – you’ll see why later :-)).