Phoebe Bag Pattern and Tutorial

I really like that this bag fits perfectly under your arm when you wear it on your shoulder and I think it’s a good medium sized purse, just perfect to carry what you need, but not big enough that things get lost. Free Sewing Tutorial and Pattern.

Download Phoebe Bag FREE Pattern

Materials:

1/2 yard for exterior
1/2 yard for lining
1/2 yard fusible interfacing
magnetic snap

finished size of bag:
14” wide x 12” tall x 3” deep

Notes:

All fabrics used are 44”  wide quilting cottons.
All seam allowances are 3/8” unless specified otherwise.
**For a more rigid bag, add a layer of fusible fleece or heavyweight sew-in interfacing to the exterior body pieces.
To ensure that your pattern prints at the correct size, set
your printer settings to 100% or set scaling to “none”.
Use the scale  printed at the top of page 4 to check the size.

bag body—cut 2 from exterior fabric, 2 from lining fabric, and 2 from interfacing
flap—cut 1 from exterior, 1 from lining, 2 from interfacing
pocket (5” x10”)—cut 2 from fabric of choice; interfacing is optional
strap (2” x 20”)—cut 1 from exterior fabric, 1 from lining, and 2 from interfacing

Instructions:

Cut fabric:
Cut out all fabrics and interfacing.  Fuse interfacing to wrong side of the lining, flap, and strap pieces.

Make the pocket:
With right sides together, sew around all 4 sides of the pocket, leaveing about a 3” opening on either a side or the bottom.  Clip the corners of the pocket to reduce bulk.  Turn the pocket right side out, then press.  Position the pocket in the center of a lining piece, a few inches down from the top edge.  Sew in place around the sides and bottom of the pocket.

Bottom darts:
Transfer dart markings from the pattern to the fabric.  Sew darts, making sure to backstitch at each dart point.

Sew bag body:
With right sides together, ling up raw edges and bottom darts of the bag exterior.  Sew around the sides and bottom of the bag. Repeat for lining, but leave a 4”-5” opening at the bottom center of the lining.

Make straps:
For each strap, with the right side down, fold and press the long sides to the center.  Place one strap on top of the other with the raw edges sandwiched between them.  Pin in place, then sew along the folded sides.

Make the flap:
On the piece with the lining fabric, insert one half of the magnetic snap.  Place both flap pieces right sides together, then sew around the sides and curved portion using a 1/4” seam allowance.   Leave
the short straight side un-sewn.  Trim the fabric around the curve close to the seam.  Turn the flap right side out, press, then topstitch, if desired.

 Prepare the exterior:
Turn the exterior right side out.  Insert magnetic snap into the exterior front center, about 2” down.  Pin the strap to the sides of the bag and flap at the center back, line up the raw edge of the strap and raw edge of the flap with the raw edge of the bag exterior.  Make sure that like fabric faces like fabric.

 

Attach bag and lining:
Insert the exterior into the lining, right sides together.  Line up the side seams, and all raw edges.  Sew all around the top edge of the bag.  Using the opening at the bottom of the lining, pull the exterior
through, turning the bag right side out.

Finish:
Stuff the lining into the exterior of the bag, smooth out all the wrinkles.  Topstitch around
the top of the bag a scant 1/4” from the edge, if desired.  Sew up the opening in the bottom of the lining.