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I have a thing for sewing bags.  I’ve made plenty of them and one of my first sewing projects ever was a small make-up bag that just wasn’t cutting it anymore.  It was way to small and after buying my very first Naked Pallete I knew I needed something bigger.

I had been looking on Pinterest for a while and saw these gorgeous boxy bags that everyone was making, and knew I wanted to make one too.  I had a ton of leftover fabric from other projects so this project cost me next to nothing (my favorite kind!), and luckily I had a ton of fabric since I had to make this bag twice.  Second time was the charm for me I guess!

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Materials:

• 2 pieces 13×14 outer fabric
• 2 pieces 13×14 inside fabric
• 2 pieces 13×14 interfacing fabric
• 14 inch zipper
• coordinating thread

I used most of this tutorial from The Cottage Mama for the boxy bag.  For the most part it was easy to follow and really easy to understand.  I did end up using this tutorial from Bits of Life for the corners of the bag though, because I just couldn’t understand how to cut and sew them to get that boxy look to the bag.

Case and point:

Before I used the second tutorial to figure the corners out, this is what the bag looked like.  I was so disappointed because I had tried sewing the exact same bag on Saturday night and ending up cutting the corners wrong and ruining the entire bag.  I thought I ruined this one too.

The word suck was thrown around a lot the past few days.

And at one point I may have wished I had kids so I could do this:

I took some time to step back and think about what I wanted to do (give up or try again) and realized that maybe another tutorial would help me figure out what I did wrong.  Luckily I found the tutorial from Bits of Life that was easier for me to understand, and then I was able to get the finished product I was after!  Apparently cutting the corners correctly really helps.

If I am being honest, I also had a hard time with the zipper when I tried making this bag the first time.  For some reason I can never get the fabric to look right after I sew it all together.  But I signed up for this Craftsy Mastering Zipper Techniques Class (<– affiliate link) and things went much smoother this time around!

I love the look of the bag, it’s huge inside and there is room to fit all my cosmetics and more!  I think I may need to make a few more of these (now that I know what I’m doing) so that they can hold other smaller items in my suitcase when I travel.

What do you think?

Do you sew?  What is your favorite thing to make?

If you’re looking to learn how to sew, you should look into Craftsy’s classes!  They also offer cooking, photography, and more if sewing isn’t your thing.

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