Earlier this year, I was asked if I would like to do a blog post for a new website, Seams and Scissors. I came up with this packable bag idea, and it was featured in early September. I thought it was high time it also made an appearance on my own blog.
The idea for my pack away bag came from a really useful bag I was given as a present a few years ago, and I finally got around to trying to replicate it. It is surprisingly easy, and and doesn’t require masses of equipment. These fold away bags are small enough to bung in your handbag, and very useful when I go to visit my family in Wales (where you have to pay for plastic bags). Ingredients
- Cotton fabric (a nice, thick good quality one is recommended. I did try version one with thin cotton, and it was a bit of a nightmare. My bag is made from some very retro curtain fabric)
- Cotton thread
- Sewing machine
- Pins
- Sharp scissors for cutting fabric
Recipe
To make the main body of the bag
- Measure and cut a piece of fabric to 44cm by 70cm.
- Hem the top edge, fold in half width ways and sew around the bottom and open side. Zig zag the edges for a tidy finish.
- To make the straps, cut out two strips of fabric, each measuring 60cm by 9cm.
- Fold in half length ways, right sides together, and sew down the length. Turn the right way out and iron flat.
- Turn the bag inside out, and sew the straps securely into place, by sewing backwards and forwards a few times. Make sure they are evenly spaced!
To make the mini pack bag
- Cut out two rectangles of fabric – one measuring 13cm by 16cm, and the other one 13cm by 22cm. Hem the top edge of both rectangles.
- Lay the bigger rectangle right side up on your workspace. Fold the hemmed edge to make a 5cm flap.
- Right sides together, lay the smaller rectangle on top.
- Pin everything into place and then sew around both edges and the bottom. Zig zag the edges for neatness.
Assembling the pack a bag