How to sew a faux fur crossbody bag

I got 3 yards of faux leather or pleather for making 4 in 1 asymmetrical clutch 2 years ago. I had a lot of leftover from the project that I wanted to use it for some other project. I was using an H&M black  crossbody handbag for a long time which was gifted to me by my cousin sister and it was so comfortable.When I wanted a bag similar to that I couldn't find any that suits my need.(It should be  big enough to hold my 500ml water bottle and the bag should not weigh too much). As I couldn't find any weightless bag I settled with a teal handbag from Walmart as a replacement until I find a new handbag that suits my need. My 500 ml water bottle was poking out in that bag and so I thought why not try sewing a handbag.Finally, I came up with the idea of using the pleather for making a crossbody bag combining it with faux fur. I thought this project will be perfect for this time of the year  and  it is so simple that anyone can sew this bag easily. It is just a bigger version of sewing a zipper pouch. Let's see how.

DIY Pencil Case using Cereal box

This post may contain affiliate links.By clicking the link and purchasing items through my links doesn't cost you anything but I receive a small commission.The money helps me buy craft supplies to bring you new creative ideas each week. 

I was going through my Pinterest feed and saw a pencil case picture from Mochi things.That caught my eye and I fell in love with those square pencil case. I had no idea to buy those pencil case as $25 for pencil case does not sound great to me ;). Are you with me ?? But I thought I can DIY a similar version to satisfy my love for the pencil case. Oh yes !! I can use them to hold my sharpies or other pens even though I am not going back to school :).

It's been a long time since I shared a no-sew version of fabric DIYs after I got a sewing machine. So, I thought I will make this pencil case a no-sew version and give a try with fabrics I had in hand and it worked.Happy dance !! So, let's see how to make it !!

Materials Required :
A cereal box
1/4  yard of patterned cotton fabric
1/4  yard of felt
Glue (E 6000 or Tacky glue)
Fabric scissors & Paper Scissors
Pencil & Ruler
Magnetic clasp or Velcro
Craft knife

Step 1: Cut one side of the cereal box measuring 7" X 11" and two pieces measuring 1.75" X 3.25" from the other side. Fold and crease the rectangle at following measurements from the top 3" - 4.25" - 7.25" - 8.5". Shape the corners of the front side of the case using scissors if desired.Cut the side panels as shown below with 0.25" on sides and bottom for folding.

Step 2: Cut the fabric pieces in such a way that it measures approximately an inch larger than the cardboard pieces.

Step 3: Apply glue on the corner of the large cardboard piece and glue the fabric to it. I used E6000 for one case and tacky glue for another (Just to test). Both work great. Also use the print side of the cereal box showing inwards, because the print in the cereal box peeks through the fabric slightly, if that doesn't bother you, then its okay.  I am using it outwards here as it will easy to explain in the pictures.

Step 4: On the inside, glue the corners as shown first and then glue all the other sides. Repeat the same procedure for the side cardboard pieces too.

Step 5: Attach the magnetic clasp to the front bottom of the case and cut the felt for inside of the case with the same measurements reducing around 0.1" all sides. Attach the other part of the magnetic clasp to the felt piece. Make sure that the clasp is attached at the right place to ensure closing when the pencil case is done.(Detailed steps for attaching magnetic clasp, explained here)

Step 6: Glue one side of the side panels to the sides as shown and the glue inner felt piece. Once it is dry, glue the bottom and the other side of the side panel to the main piece. Use a binder clip to hold it in place and then you are done. Once it is dry, your new square pencil case is ready to enjoy !! 

This is my trial version of the square pencil case, I used pleather/ vinyl for inside instead of felt but the areas where the glue applied was wrinkly and it was obvious that glue has been applied.That is the reason I switched to felt.As said earlier, I used the printed side of the cereal box for outside and the prints were showing through.So, I recommend using a darker fabric or use the inner side of the cereal box as outside.

This case can hold quite a lot of supplies.

Hope you enjoyed this simple DIY. Share what you think in the comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you.

Other Cereal box crafts you might like:

DIY Rotating Jewelry Storage using cereal box

DIY Easter Baskets from Cereal box & Milk Jug

Cereal box into Storage Box

How to sew mini minion messenger bag

I posted a similar tutorial on "How to sew a Mini Dora bag for toddlers" a few days ago and I also mentioned that I stitched the bag in last minute without much preparation.I wanted to try sewing a  messenger bag in a proper way with apt measurements and procedure. I got another opportunity to sew a messenger bag and this time it is "Minions" for my another cousin's daughter.Yay!! Lets see how I did it this time.

Minion image source

Materials Required :
1/2 yard Minions fabric
Interfacing
Matching color thread
Iron
Straight pins
Magnetic Clasp button -1
Marking Chalk
Fabric Scissors
Minions button(Optional -pictorial at the end)
Sewing Machine

Step 1:Cut the outer fabric, lining and interfacing as per measurements specified below.

For the body of the messenger bag :
Outer fabric,Lining,Interfacing  - 2 pieces each in 6.5" X 7" (I am using the same fabric for outer and lining but you can change it as desired.)

For the flap
Outer fabric, Lining and Interfacing - 1 piece each in 5" X 5.5"

For handle 
1 piece in  30" X 3" ( if you don't have 30" long piece, you can join the pieces together to attain that length )

Step 2: Iron the interfacing on all the outer fabrics (2 body pieces and 1 flap)

Step 3: Attach the magnetic clasp to outer fabric of the body piece in front and on the lining side of the flap. Make sure both the clasps are aligned.

Iron a piece of interfacing for extra strength on the wrong side. Mark the area where you have to insert the magnetic clasp and make two slits.Insert the button and put the metal piece of the button to secure the button in place and use the edge of scissors to bend the button. Repeat the same process for flap piece. (Refer Dora bag tutorial for step by step pictures of the process).

Step 4: Place both the outer fabrics right side facing each other and stitch around three sides on the edges with 1/8" seam allowance leaving the top open.Do the same with lining pieces of the body. Similarly, Place the outer fabric and lining of the flap right sides facing each other and stitch around the edges with 1/8" seam allowance with one side open. Cut on the corners of seam allowance diagonally to avoid bulkiness.Turn inside out using the open side. Now , you have two body pieces(Outer and lining) and one flap piece.

Step 5: Now square the bottom of the bag.Take the outer body piece and mark 1/2 " square on the corners. Pinch the corner to form a triangle and use straight pin to secure the pattern. When you pierce the pin your pin should come out on the stitch line on the other side which means the triangle is formed correctly . Make a stitch perpendicular to the stitch line which is already there to square the corners.Repeat the same on other side.

Step 6: Take the long piece for handle and fold the sides for 0.75" on each side and Iron.Fold that into half so that the final width of the handle is 1.5" and Iron. Make a stitch on both the sides with 1/8" seam allowance.Your handle is ready.

Step 7: Arrange all the parts together.First take the outer body part with wrong sides facing you.Then place the handle on the sides and pin them .The whole handle should be inside.May sure it is not twisted. Now place the lining part with right sides facing the right side of the outer part.(Picture 1) Then insert the flap part between the outer part and inner lining part with right sides of the flap facing the outer part of the fabric. Do this on the non- button side of the outer part.(Picture 2)Pin all the layers together. Make a stitch all around leaving 3" gap in the front (Button side) to turn everything out.

Step 8: Use the gap and turn everything out and close the gap. Make a top stitch all around to complete the bag. Voila !! Minion bag is now ready :)As you all know I love personalizing things, So I made my own minion button to add as an embellishment to the bag.I made the button as minion holding a speech bubble and I wrote my cousin's daughter name there.Cool, right ?

Here is the pictorial of Minion button. I just referred an image from google and made the polymer clay cutting using xacto knife.I made two holes to sew as a button in the bag and also added some fabric glue for extra safety.I baked the polymer clay at 275F for 30 min as per the instruction on the package. I used markers for writing the name and adding lip color.

This is how I wrapped the gift. It's all "Minionssss" ;) Use a yellow wrapping paper to wrap the gift as you normally would and use black and white cardstock , brown and grey markers to add details.Thats it !! 

Hope you enjoyed learning how to sew a mini messenger bag along with mini tutorial of button and wrapping idea. You can use the same steps and make a large one for you or mini bag for your toddler. Use the favorite cartoon print or pattern of the recipient and I am sure it will be a "hit".Sorry for the poor pictures in between those where taken with my mobile as my camera went for service.Hope you understand.If you have any doubt ,feel free to ask.. Do try it and let me know. Share what you think in the comments below.

DIY Beach Bag using Rit dye

I see fall nearing us and so before it completely arrives ,let us enjoy the summer to the fullest with beach trips.Are you in ??I had some white terry towels(Bath towels) laying around the house and so I thought I would make a try dying them.I really enjoyed my first experience of dying my shoes, if you missed that post,click here.Now to my second try, tie & dye is one the popular method of dying fabrics and I wanted to try them in terry towels.Have anybody thought about dying terry towels ??Or am I the only person to do it ??Answer me in the comments and now to the DIY.

Materials Required :
1 large bath towel (Terry)
Rit liquid dye (Any two complimentry colours)
Rubber bands
Plastic/Stainless steel container
Warm water
Gloves
Fabric Glue /Sewing machine
Needle & thread.
Velcro fabric fusion
Clear Vinyl/Strong plastic bags
Sample fabric to test the dye colour.

Step 1: Prepare the towel for tie & dye.Fold the towel into half size.Keep your forefinger and middle finger in the center and twist it so that the towel twists.(As shown).Just fold the remaining in the shape and lock it with the rubber bands.Wet the towel in water.

Step 2: Fill half of the container with warm water and 2 tablespoons of salt.(Mix well and add small amount of dye in the starting stage, mix well again.Now, take the sample piece and dip it inside the dye bath.Take out to check whether the color is okay for you.If you feel it is lighter ,then you can add more dye.Immerse one half of the towel into bath and let it sit for 20 minutes.(Refer the package for complete instructions).

Note: Before dying ,think for a minute whether you have any other pieces in your house needs dye makeover.May be some beautiful light colour table runners or some sentimental pieces you have saved as it got small stains.Take them out and give a new life to them. My light coloured kitchen towel had some brown stains and so I dyed them to purple and pink .And now I have a beautiful double colored kitchen towel :).Why to waste the remaining dye when we can use it for many other things to dye ;)?

Step 3: Repeat step 2 to make dye bath for another color and dye the other part of the towel.You can try using more than 2 colors to make it more colorful.

Step 4: Take them out and carefully rinse them in warm water, then in cool water until water runs clear.(Warm water helps to rinse the residual dye in the surface effectively).Allow them to dry completely.

Here it is after the dying process.

Step 5: Now its time to make the bag.You can use the towel as such or trim it to the required size.I trimmed the sides of the bag to about 4 inch each side.Before sewing or gluing the sides, I thought the beach bag would be perfect if it has some compartments for shoes and other miscellaneous items such as sun glasses,sunscreens,etc instead of just throwing in everything.
So, I attached one large plastic bag on one side for shoes or flip flops and a small one on other side for miscellaneous items.I did this with velcro as it will be easier to clean the bags and put them again.But it is all based on your personal preferences.I wanted it to be clear compartments as it will be easier to see what things are there but you can make them with same fabric and sewing them instead of using Velcro.However I used a ordinary a velcro sticky back , I recommend you to use Velcro fabric fusion as that will be perfect for fabrics compared to ordinary one.

Step 6: Use fabric glue or sewing machine to complete the sides of the bag.Use the remaining fabric to make handles for the bag.Use 3 inch width for the handle and sew or glue them by folding it as shown.Length of the bag can be according to your preference.Use needle & thread to sew the handles or sew them if you have sewing machine.I used simple stitches and hand sewed them.Voila!!!Now you have a beautiful bag to rock your beach trip!!!

Complete the sides with fabric glue/sewing machine

Glue the handles to perfect width

And here is the final reveal of the beach bag ....I am enjoying the beach with my new beach bag.When are you going to make one ??

Close up view of the bag

Here are my two dye projects so far.

What do you think about this beach bag ??Feel free to share your comments below or write to vikalpah@gmail.com.
Shall I ask you one more thing ??May be a help for your creative friend ??I got selected for second round in a make amazing contest by Scotch brand.To go to final level, I need your help.If you love my entry ,can you please take a moment to vote for me ??I made a pendant lamp for Maker Masterpieces category and stay tuned for this tutorial next week on my blog. Here is the Voting link and the entry is in my last name (S.Ajeethan).Thank you for your time & vote :)