Ballet Slipper Bag
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This is a neat little cotton bag for carrying anything small. You can make them as plain or as fancy as you wish by your choice of fabrics and trim. My daughters use theirs for ballet slippers, and I keep a small knitting project in mine. The finished size is 8" wide, 10" high, 3" deep. The strap on the pink and purple bags are 30" long - long enough for the girls to wear them slung across their chests. The strap on the red bag is about 40" long. Choose two fabrics that look well together - you'll need about a fat quarter of the bottom fabric, and about 1/2 yard (0.5 metres) of the top fabric - it also makes up the strap and lining. If you want to use trim, about 5/8 yard (0.5 metres) will go around the bag in this size. For the girls I chose a dangly beaded trim, and for mine, simple rick-rack. 1/2" seam allowances are used throughout, unless otherwise noted. Of the bottom fabric, cut a rectangle 12" wide by 18" long. Note that the fabric for the pink bag has a one-way design. To get the print facing the right way up on both sides, I cut two rectangles, 12" wide by 10" long (the 10" is the vertical on the bag), then seamed them along the bottom. Of the top fabric, cut one rectangle 12" wide by 24" long, two rectangles 12" wide by 4" long, and one strip 3 1/2 " wide by the desired strap length plus 1". For the girls bags I cut the straps 31" long. For mine I used the full width of the fabric - about 42" long. If you want to stiffen your bag a bit, apply fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the lining piece (the 12 x 24 rectangle). I did this for my red and green bag. You may want to apply interfacing to half (lengthwise) of the strap piece as well. 
Fold the 12x18 rectangle in half crosswise (into a doubled 12x9 rectangle), right sides together, and seam up the sides. Do likewise with the 12x24 rectangle, and sew the short sides of the 12x4 rectangles together. Press all seam allowances open, clipping the folded bottoms of the bag and lining so the seam will lie flat. To make the bottom and sides of the bag, fold it so that the bottom corner makes a point, as shown in the photo. The angle of the point should be 90° (a right angle) and the side seam should bisect the angle of the point. Measure 1½ inches up the side seam from the bottom. Mark a line across the side of the bag. It should measure 3 inches long. Stitch along this line. Repeat on both bottom corners of the lining and the outer bottom part of the bag. Trim off the corner, leaving ½ inch seam allowance bleow your stitching. 
Place trim around the top of the bottom outer part of the bag, so the trim will hang down from the ½ inch seam line. Place ends at the seam line and fold under ends where they meet. Baste in place along seam line. Sew the top part of the bag to the bottom, right sides together, being sure to catch in the trim as you sew. Turn the top up, pressing the seam allowance toward the top. (Be careful of trim when you are pressing - plastic trims may melt.) Topstitch close to the seam in the top part of the bag. Fold the strap in half lengthwise, right sides together and sew along the length with a ¼ inch seam allowance. Turn and press. Top stitch along the two long sides of the strap. Time to insert the strap. Baste the cut ends of the strap to the sides of the bag, matching the centre of the strap to the side seam of the bag. Make sure the strap is not twisted. Place the bag and strap inside the lining so the right sides are together. Matching the side seams, stitch the bag and lining together around the top of the bag (½" seam allowance). Leave an opening of about 3-4" for turning. Turn the bag right side out through the opening you've left. Press the seam, pressing under the seam allowances on the opening. Topstitch around the top of the bag, sewing the opening closed as you go. Done! |
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