Old-School Lunch Bag Tutorial

Smarten up your lunch with this one-of-a-kind bag! How to Sew a  Lunch Bag. 

 

This would also make a perfect bag for on-thego sewing. We fancy it for our EPP so we can keep all our supplies close to hand when we're enjoying the sunshine!

FINISHED SIZE: 12½ x 13½”   

Seam allowances are all ¼” unless otherwise stated
RST– right sides together
WST – wrong sides together
FQ – fat quarter
F8th – fat eighth

 MATERIALS
 ◆ 40cm print fabric
 ◆ 40cm co-ordinating fabric for lining
 ◆ fat quarter matching solid
 ◆ 40cm Vlieseline H630 fusible wadding
 ◆ 40cm Vlieseline Style-Vil foam interfacing
 ◆ fat quarter Vlieseline Decovil I Light fusible interfacing
 ◆ fat eighth Vlieseline S320 fusible interfacing
 ◆ 12cm gold metal zip 
 ◆ fat eighth tan leather or faux leather
 ◆ 2.5cm brass buckle
 ◆ tan Gütermann denim thread 
 ◆ Union Jack Berisfords ribbon 
 ◆ fabric glue

 DOWNLOAD PDF PATTERN

 CUTTING
From leather, cut:
2.5x30cm strip for buckle strap
2 4x25cm strips for handle
From print fabric, cut:
29x25cm piece for front panel
29x25cm piece for back panel
29x25cm pieces for side gussets
29x9cm piece for base

From lining fabric, cut:
18x30cm piece for zipper box pocket lining
2 29x25cm pieces
2 21x15cm pieces for slip pocket
From S320 interfacing, cut:
19x13cm piece for slip pocket
 

ASSEMBLY
1. Cut 9cm o  one end of the 2.5x30cm leather strip. Sew around both with denim thread. Because these will be sewn to the bag top, stop 2.5cm from each end. (See Pic A.) This way, when you sew them on, the stitching will not be.
 

2. Punch a hole in the smaller piece 4cm in from one end and place on the buckle with the buckle prong through the hole. (See Pic B.) This is shorter on the back to reduce bulk. Punch six holes in the other leather piece. 

 

3. Use fabric glue to attach the suede sides of the handle strips together. Stitch around the outside edge, laminating them together.

4. Make 150cm of bias binding with the orange solid fabric.

 5. Use the template to cut a flap from patterned fabric. Fuse H630 to the back and Decovil I Light on top of that. Make another fl ap from the lining and interface the back with H630. Place these WST and baste the edges. Bind the front with orange bias tape. Only do the sides and front – the fl at back edge will be hidden in the seam.

6. Measure down from the back straight edge 15cm on the centre vertical line and attach the strap. On the back of the flap measure in 3.5cm on each side and 6cm in from the straight back edge and attach the handle. (See pics C and D.)

7. Interface the wrong side of the front panel fabric with H630. Lay this panel onto a slightly larger piece of Style-Vil and attach with a narrow basting seam. Trim the Style-Vil back to the stitching line.
 

8. Find the vertical centre and attach the buckle half of the closure 5cm  up from the bottom by topstitching in denim thread. (See Pic E.)

9. Interface the back print fabric panel to the wrong side with H630.  

10. The 18x30cm lining piece is for the zip box pocket lining. Find the vertical centre of the panel and pocket lining. On the back panel, measure 5cm from the top edge and mark. Place a short end of the zip pocket lining right sides together onto the marks and pin. Measure down 3.5cm on the lining and mark a box 1cm deep x 12cm long. This is the sewing line. Make a line horizontally down the centre of the box with two angles at each end. This is the cutting line. (See pics F and G.) 

11. Sew around the sewing line and cut along the cutting line. ‘Post’ the lining through the hole and smooth down on the back. Top-stitch the zipper into the box and finish the pocket by bringing the other short end of the lining up to meet the first and sewing the sides and bottom.

12. Lay the back panel onto a piece of Style-Vil and proceed as for the front.

 13. Fuse H630 to the back the 9x25cm side gusset pieces. Attach to Style-Vil, trim and repeat for the 29x9cm base.

14. Fuse the slip pocket interfacing centrally to the wrong side of one of the lining pieces. This will be the pocket front.

15. Sew around the edge of the interfacing, leaving a turning gap in the base. Trim the seam allowance back to 0.5cm and clip across the corners.

16. Turn through the gap and press. Topstitch onto one lining piece (this will be at the back). Site the pocket 5cm down in the centre of the panel. (See Pic H.)

18. Sew the lining together, back, front, sides and base gusset. Repeat for  outer pieces. 

19. Sew the flap to the back of the outer. Measure down 2cm from the top and sew the flap. Turn the flap the right way, top-stitch the end to hide the raw edge and secure the flap. (See Pic I.)

20. Drop the lining into the bag with RST and bind the top edge.