Mini Market Bag Tutorial

i thought it might be fun to make up a little tutorial for the little bag i made the other day. (i am by no means an expert seamstress or sewist.)

i just thought someone else might like to know how i made that little bag. so that they could share it with their own little sweetie!

let us begin!

you will need:

you will also need:

scissors
sewing machine
thread
an iron

place the 9 x 12 inch fabric in front of you.
fold down the top 1/2 inch on the short side of the fabric and press with an iron.

next, fold down the same edge an additional 1 1/2 inches. press.

place the ball trim underneath the folded edge. pin in place.

using the sewing machine, stitch the trim and the folded edge. also, stitch along the top fold.
repeat this for the other piece of 9 x 12 inch fabric.

the french seams

with wrong sides facing, pin both pieces of fabric together.
use a 1/4 inch seam allowance and stitch down one side, along the bottom, and up the other side.
snip the bottom corners.

turn the bag inside-out. press flat.

use a 1/2 inch seam allowance this time, and sew down one side, along the bottom, and up the other side.

note: this part is a little tricky for me to explain in writing. so look through the next 4 pictures BEFORE you stitch the corner triangles.

pinch the corners together. make sure to match up seams on the inside.


this is what it looks like on the inside. make sure to match up the seams.

stitch across the corner.

this is what it looks like after the corners have been stitched with the sewing machine.

turn the bag rightside-out.
this is how the bottom now looks.

the straps (follow these instructions for each piece of 4 x 16 inch fabric)

fold in half lengthwise. press with an iron.

next open up the fabric. then fold in one edge of the fabric to the center fold. press flat.
repeat for the other edge.
it should now look like this:

again, fold at the center fold and press.

stitch down both sides of the strap with a sewing machine.

now you're ready to attach the straps to the bag!
fold the strap end under 1 inch and pin to the bag.

repeat for the other strap end, giving a space of 3 1/2 inches between ends.

using the sewing machine, stitch the strap to the bag in a square.

snip all thread ends.

Voila! a handy-dandy mini market bag. just right for little hands.