Red & Black Day 4: DIY Handbag

For day 4 of Red & Black Week, a pattern for making a handbag.

In the comments to yesterday's tote bag post, The Professor presciently asked if the bag could be made in a smaller size. Yes, it can! :D

Scaled down 50%, the bag is a good size for a handbag or lunch tote. To make the smaller size, just divide the tote bag measurements in half. Follow the same sewing instructions as for the tote bag. Retain the 4" spacing for the handles.

The pieces for the handbag are small, so it's a great way to use remnants and scraps. In addition, the pattern pieces can be printed on standard 8.5" x 11" paper. The pictures below should produce an accurately sized pattern when printed at 100%. (You can also email me to request a PDF.)

You can easily make variations on the tote or the handbag:

• Connect the top band, front/back and bottom pattern pieces and cut as one to create a solid (no contrast) bag.
• Add interfacing to the fabric pieces to give the bag a more structured look.
• Use heavy-duty thread and strong fabrics to make a grocery tote. (I like to space the handles further apart on grocery totes.)
• Make the handles narrower or wider, longer or shorter.
• Add a loop-and-button or other type of closure.
• Add ribbon, lace or other trim as desired.
• Add pockets to the outside or inside.

The bag shown below has a black pocket (divided into two) on the inside. 

To make this type of pocket, cut a piece of fabric the same width as the lining and twice the desired depth of the pocket. Finish/hem the top and bottom.

Place the pocket on the right side of the lining and stitch the top all the way across, as shown by the yellow line below.

Fold the pocket up and baste along the sides, as shown by the yellow lines below. The pocket sides will be fully sewn when you stitch together the sides of the lining. To divide the pocket, stitch down as shown by the pink line below.

Sew the bag together per the usual instructions. Done!

Red & Black Day 3: DIY Tote Bag

For Day 3 of Red & Black Week (and the sub-theme of Red, Black & White), a tutorial for making a tote bag in which to carry your booty. ARRRR!

This tote is extremely easy to sew, and you can make it with most any medium-weight non-stretch fabric. You will need a main fabric, a contrast fabric and a lining fabric. These can be the same or different, your choice. I used a pirate-print cotton for the main fabric, a red polka dot cotton for the contrast, and a plain black cotton for the lining.

You will need about 1/2 yard each of the main and contrast fabrics, and about 1 yard of lining fabric. Some of the pattern pieces are small, so you may be able to use scraps or remnants.

Begin by cutting your fabric pieces as shown in the diagram below. Note the diagram is only for measurements of the pieces, not necessarily how you want to lay them out on the fabric to be cut.

And then it's on to the sewing!
Step 1: With right sides together, sew the top band to the front. Then with right sides together, sew the bottom to the front. Repeat to create the back.

Step 2: Fold the handle in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the long side. Repeat for the other handle. Turn both handles right side out. (This is probably the most difficult part of the project!)

Optional: Topstitch along both long sides of the handles. This will keep the handles flat and add strength.

Step 3: Pin the handles to the right side of the front top band, lining up the raw edges. Space them 4" apart, at 8" and 12", as shown below. Be sure the handles aren't twisted, and stitch them in place. Repeat to attach the handles to the back.

Step 4: Place front and back together, right sides together. Stitch the sides and bottom.

Step 5: Stitch the bottom corners. This is easy to do but hard to describe. :P At the bottom corner cutout, pull the front and back apart a little and match the end of the side seam to the end of the bottom seam. Then pinch the fabric together and stitch a straight seam to close up the corner.

Step 6: Fold the lining in half, right sides together. Stitch the sides, leaving an opening in one of the seams for turning the lining/bag right side out. (If you're using thicker fabrics, leave a larger opening.) Stitch the bottom and the bottom corners.

Step 7: Turn the bag right side out and place it inside the lining (this places right sides together). Make sure the handles are folded down and inside the lining. Stitch the lining and bag together at the top.

Step 8: Turn the bag right side out through the opening you left in the lining. Stitch the opening closed.

Done!

It's easy to make variations on this bag by changing up the fabrics, making the handles longer or shorter, or adding pockets to the inside or outside.

Red & Black Day 2: DIY Pixie Skirt

For day 2 of Red & Black Week, a tutorial on making a pixie (aka handkerchief hem) skirt.

A pixie skirt is easy to make, no pattern required. It's basically just a square of fabric. The wearer's body goes through a circle cut out of the center. ;)

To cut the circle, first fold the fabric in half horizontally, then in half vertically (as shown by the purple lines), resulting in a smaller square.

The width of the fabric will determine the maximum skirt length that you can achieve without stitching together pieces of fabric. The project illustrated here uses 60" wide panne velvet. To make the longest skirt possible, I kept as much width as I could. I just trimmed the selvages, resulting in a 59" width, and then cut the length to a matching 59". When folded horizontally and then vertically, the square measures 29.5".

You can cut a square and then fold it, or you can fold the fabric and then cut it into a square. The latter is easier if you're working with a large piece of fabric.

folds are along the left side and bottom

Next, make your waistband (via the same process as shown in yesterday's post). It should be 4" wide and long enough to fit around your hips. I made a 42" waistband for this project.

Now that you have your waistband, it's time for a little math. :o I've attempted to explain why you need the math, but if you don't care about that, you can just skip down to the summary. :)

You've determined the length of your waistband (42" in this project). Now you're going to cut a circular opening to fit that waistband.

BUT before you cut, you need to account for stretching. The circular opening always stretches, and you can easily end up with an opening that's too big for your waistband. To compensate for the stretching, deduct about 2" if you're using a woven fabric and 4" if you're using a stretch knit fabric. This project used knit fabric, so I deducted 4" from my 42" waistband to get 38".

This new measurement will be the circumference of the circular opening. Now, to cut the circle correctly, you need to calculate the radius.

 

The formula is radius = circumference / (2 x pi). Pi is approximately 3.14, so 2 x pi is 6.28. Thus, the formula is radius = circumference / 6.28.

In this project, the circumference was 38", so the radius = 38" / 6.28, or 6.05". We'll round this to 6".

SUMMARY:

• Determine what length waistband will fit over your hips. (42" in this project)
• From that length, subtract 2 if you're using woven fabric or 4 for knit fabric. (42" - 4 = 38")
• Divide that number by 6.28. (38" / 6.28 = 6.05")
• That's your radius! (rounded to 6")

Next, use the radius to draw your cut line. You can mark directly on the fabric, but I prefer to make a paper template which can be reused.

Measuring from the corner of the paper, mark your radius (6" in this project) in several places. Then connect the dots to form an arc. This will be your cut line.

Cut along the line to create the paper template. Then place the template over the folded corners of your fabric and cut the fabric along the template.

Next, cut additional layers if you want, and use the template to make the waist cutout on each. These layers can be the same size or a different size(s) than your first layer. In this project, I cut a smaller (18.5" when folded) square of red fabric for a top layer.

Arrange your layers as desired, lining up the waist cutouts. Pin the layers together.

If your fabric ravels easily or is stretchy, slippery or floppy, you may want to baste the layers together. This project used panne velvet, which is stretchy, slippery and floppy, so I went so far as to serge the layers together. If you do this, be sure the serger knife barely skims the fabric; you don't want to enlarge the opening.

Attach your waistband (via the same process as shown in yesterday's post). If the opening is a bit too small, you can stretch the fabric to meet the waistband. If the opening is much too small, you can cut it larger... but cut a tiny bit at a time. You can't shrink the opening once it's cut.

Run the elastic through the waistband. If you have multiple layers and/or heavy fabrics, be sure to use elastic that's strong enough. I used 1" non-roll elastic for this project.

Finally, hem/finish the bottoms as desired. Done!

It takes a while to describe the process, but once you have a template for your waist cutout, pixie skirts are easy and quick to make. They're the perfect style for multiple layers of lace or sheer fabrics.

Red & Black Day 1: Turn a Dress into a Skirt

For day 1 of Red & Black Week, a tutorial on turning a shapeless dress into a skirt.

Sack-shaped dresses (with big shoulder pads, of course!) were fashionable in the 1980's. (Remember Andi's prom dress from "Pretty in Pink"?) I see lots of these dresses in thrift stores. One such find was this red and black dress. The top half looks like a baggy t-shirt, but the bottom half has tiered ruffles and would make a cute skirt.

Oversized dresses can also be rescued by making them into skirts. If you find a size 16 dress but you're a size 6, turning it into a skirt may be easier than altering the entire dress. The technique described below will work on most loose-fitting, pullover-style (no zipper) dresses. The only notion you'll need is a piece of 3/4" wide elastic cut to your waist size.

First, determine where you want to cut the dress. Measure and mark a line. Typically, you'd measure up from the hem. Because my dress had tiers, I measured up (7") from the top of the top ruffle.

Next, measure and mark a piece of fabric from which you will make the waistband. This piece should be 4" wide and the same length as the waist opening. It's easiest to take it from right above the waist cutline.

lines marked at 7" and 11" from the ruffle (11 - 7 = 4" for the waistband)

Cut along the lines.

middle piece will become the waistband

The next step is to make the waistband and create an opening for the 3/4" elastic to run through. The waistband should be a loop the same size as the waist opening of the skirt; one end of the loop will have an intermittent seam, allowing an opening for the elastic. To create this, place the pieces of the waistband with right sides together and stitch a seam 2.5" long, then skip 1", and then stitch the remaining .5" These measurements don't have to be exact as long as your longer seam crosses over the center line of the waistband and your opening is large enough for the elastic to run through.

If you took the waistband piece from right above the waist cutline, it will already be sewn together into a loop. Stitch over the original stitching line for the 2.5" and .5" seams, then snip out the original stitches to form the 1" opening.

black thread shows my new stitches; original red stitches were then snipped to create the 1" opening

Fold the waistband in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Pin it to the skirt, matching side seams, center front and center back (shown by pins in the picture below). To ensure the opening in the waistband will be on the inside of the skirt, be sure the non-opening side of the waistband is against the outside of the skirt.

Stitch the waistband to the skirt with a sewing machine or serger (overlock).

stitched waistband

serged waistband

The final step is to run the elastic through the waistband. There are various tricks for accomplishing this task. I pin a large safety pin to one end of the elastic and use it to guide the elastic through.

Guide the elastic all the way around and back out through the opening so that both ends are sticking out of the waistband opening. Remove the safety pin and stitch the two ends of the elastic together. The elastic can then disappear into the waistband.

make sure the elastic hasn't twisted inside the waistband before stitching ends together

Done!

Theme Week and a Giveaway

I'm excited to begin June with two exciting events: a theme week and a giveaway.

Red & Black Week 2013
Sophistique Noir's Red & Black Week begins tomorrow. I will be posting tutorials for some fun, easy DIY projects throughout the week.  :)

400 Followers Giveway
GIY: Goth It Yourself has 400 followers! This is cause for celebration! And what better way to celebrate than with free stuff. :D After the conclusion of Red & Black Week next Saturday, I will post details of the giveway, so be sure to check back.