Carry-All Bag

I hope you had a fun Summer! We had so many outside activities the last few months the time flew by as we enjoyed our long summer days. It is already the second week of August and the start of school and fall sports is just around the corner. This large carry all bag will be perfect to stuff with all the necessities as you head off to after school activities. It is easy to sew and can be made in school/team colors that would be fun to personalize with embroidery or a Cricut machine. I was inspired by the Grab and Go bag from Tammy Silvers in an article from a past issue of Quilt-it Today magazine. The rope cording is a great look and easy on your hands or shoulder for carrying it pairs perfectly with the Moda grunge fabric available in the Cotton Cuts online fabric shop.

Materials Needed:

• ½ yard of main fabric (Moda Blue Grunge)

• ½ yard of contrasting fabric (Moda Sunflower yellow Grunge)

• ⅔ yard of lining fabric (Wyndham Favorite things)

• 1 yard of medium weight fusible interfacing

• 2 yards of 10mm diameter rope cording (I found mine at Dollar Tree)

• Aurifil Thread from the Chroma Membership

To get started you will cut two lining fabric pieces and two interfacing pieces at 22” x 22”. Iron on the fusible medium weight interfacing to the wrong side of each lining piece. (I used a Pellon 808 fusible). With the right sides together sew the two lining pieces together on three sides. On the bottom edge mark and cut out a 2” square from the bottom corners.

To box the corners of the bag bring the side seam and the bottom seam together and sew with a quarter inch seam.

Set the lining aside. Cut two pieces of the yellow center fabric 6.5” x 22” wide. Cut four pieces of the blue fabric 8.5” x 22”. Sew the strips together using a ¼” seam allowance with the yellow between the blue strips. Press the seam toward the darker fabric and topstitch about ⅛” from the seam with contrasting thread. You may need to square up the front and back pieces so that they are the same size as the lining started at 22” x 22”.

Place the right sides together and sew around the sides and bottom with a ¼” seam allowance. To keep the stripes lined up, clip the seams in place.

Repeat the same process of marking a 2” square from each corner of the outer bag and box the seams as you did with the lining pieces.

Next you will need to prepare a template for the rounded cut out on the top edge of the bag. I used about a 6” diameter bowl to draw a circle on cardstock. Cut it out and fold in half. Mark a line ¾” below and cut on that line.

With the right sides together insert the lining into the outer bag. Align the side seams and the top edges. You may want to clip in place to keep it aligned properly. Mark the center point on the top edge on both sides of the outer bag. Line up the center of the template with the center point on the bag and trace around the shape.

Sew the lining and outer bag together along the raw edges on the top of the bag, continue to sew ¼ “ seam around the curved line. The curved line you drew will be your cutting line after you sew the seam. Be sure to leave about a 4” opening on the straight edge for turning. Turn right sides out and align the top edges and press. Fold a quarter inch under at the opening to enclose the raw edges. This opening will be sewn closed in the next step.

Cut two pieces of the rope 36” long. It is helpful to tape the edges before you cut the to keep it from unraveling. Line up the cut edges of the rope handle on the side seam of the lining and sew in place going back and forth a few times to secure the rope.

In this next step it is helpful to use your zipper foot to sew the rope cord in place. Make sure the rope is laying flat without any twisting and fold the top edge over covering the rope. Topstitch ⅛” from the edge in a matching thread.

Sew along the edge from the top of the curve on one side to the opposite side.

Here is how the handle will look after this seam is sewn.

Repeat the process on the other side.

Give your bag a final press and your bag is ready to grab and go to your next activity. This sturdy bag should last for years and is machine washable since it is made of cotton. Pre-wash your fabrics if you plan to wash it so dark colors don’t bleed onto a light color.