Tute-Happy Summer: The Overnight Bag

We're continuing our Tute-Happy Summer series today with Rebecca from Our Busy Little Bunch. She's sharing a tutorial for an overnight bag using pre-quilted Who's Who fabric--a great way to speed up a bag project by eliminating the quilting time! Enjoy Rebecca's tutorial and then head over to her blog for a chance to win materials to make your own bag!

Hi, I'm Rebecca from Our Busy Little Bunch and I'm excited to be sharing a free pattern with you today called The Overnight Bag. This pattern uses Fabri-Quilt's quilted fabric, which results in no need to make a separate lining or add interfacing to the main pieces, making it a quick and rewarding project. Fabri-Quilt carries a large selection of quilted cottons, with many prints to choose from.

First, you will need your supplies. The fabrics I used are from the Who's Who line by Ro Gregg.

-one yard quilted print for main pieces of bag and gusset

-one yard cotton for outer pocket and zipper strips

-one yard cotton for binding and straps

You will also need a 13" non-separating zipper (or larger one that you'll cut down later)

Let's start by making our main pattern piece with some scrap paper or freezer paper. Cut it 13" tall by 8" wide. Now you you need to make a mark 1.5" in from the top right edge, and cut from bottom corner to that mark. This pattern piece is for half of the bag and will be cut on the fold, so this will make the top of the bag 13" wide, and keep the bottom 16" wide. Next, round the bottom of the right side by using a curved ruler (or a plate from your kitchen works too, but make sure it's a gradual curve, not too sharp). Using your newly made pattern piece, cut two from quilted fabric on fold. If it's a directional print, make sure to decide best way to lay it out first and leave room for the gusset piece in next step.

From the quilted fabric, cut one gusset piece 6" wide x width of fabric. Do a quick measurement with a measuring tape of distance around the sides and bottom of the main piece to ensure you cut it long enough, and add an extra inch for safe measure. Since your curve might be slightly sharper than mine, it might differ from my measurement (mine measured 39").

Next, take your pocket fabric and cut two outside front pockets. Do this by placing your pattern piece on the fold of the fabric, and measure 9" from bottom edge.

For the exterior back pocket, cut two pieces 6" x 9".

For the zipper pieces, cut two strips 13" x 5" and two tab pieces 3" square.

Now take your binding/strap fabric, and decide on the length you would like. You will either need to cut two or three strips width of fabric x 6". If going with a shorter length strap (42"), just leave the two strips separate. If going with a longer length, sew the three strips together, and then cut in half, giving you two straps 63" long (you can cut shorter if desired).

For bias binding, cut 2.5" strips measuring total length of 120". Also cut a smaller strip at 2" wide for tops of pockets, total length 21".

So you're ready to get sewing now! All seam allowances are 1/2" unless otherwise stated.  First let's get those straps done. Press each strap in half, open up, and press raw edges to the center. You will end up with a strip pressed into quarters.

 Sew close to each long edge, and then another seam down center. 

Take one of your main exterior pieces, mark the center with a pin, and then pin the inside edge of straps 5" apart (2.5" from center). Place a pin across the top of the strap, 3" from the top of the bag. 

Sew along the same seam lines on the edges of the straps, starting at the bottom of the bag, across the line where you marked with a pin, and back down the opposite side. DO NOT do this for the second main piece, just one.

Now take your front pocket pieces, and sew a strip of 2" binding between top edges (binding should be pressed in half, measuring 1" wide, and all four raw edges lined up together).  

Open and press.

Place pocket piece on front of main piece, and sew 1/4" from the side and bottom edges to secure. Put aside for now.

Take the back pocket pieces and repeat steps above to sew the remaining piece of 2" strip to the top edges, open up and press.

Center the pocket piece along the bottom of the second main piece, and layer the strap on top with inside edges 5" apart. Sew along the long edges and across the pin (3" from top edge), same as you did for the other main piece. Set aside. 

Now take your 2.5" wide pieces of binding, press in half, and sew two long strips to either side of the gusset piece, lining up raw edges, and secure with 1/4" seam allowance.

Pin and sew one main piece to the gusset piece, taking your time around the curves. Cut off excess.

Pin remaining main piece to the other side of gusset and sew.

Trim seam allowance to 1/4".

You now have the option of machine stitching or hand-stitching the binding down. I found it was a much nicer finish to hand-stitch, and I didn't even make it through one TV show before it was done.

Repeat with binding for top edge of bag - sew to top edge, trim seam allowance, hand stitch or machine-stitch in place.

Now take your zipper strips. Press all edges in 1/4", then press in half.

Pin to one edge of zipper starting beside zipper pull. Sew the three edges closed - along short ends and close to folded edge beside zipper. Repeat for other side.

Take your 3" squares and press all edges to center, and then press in half - creating a 1.5" x 0.75" strip. Enclose zipper ends in strips (cutting off excess zipper if needed), pin and stitch all around edges.

Center and pin one side of zipper piece just beneath binding on top of bag. Machine stitch close to edge.

Repeat for other side.

Center and pin end tabs to either side of bag and machine stitch.

And that's the final step - you're done! Enjoy your new bag! Perfect for an overnight bag or an all-day outing.

Thanks, Rebecca!
Head over to Rebecca's blog to see how you can win the materials to make an overnight bag for yourself!  This giveaway is now closed, but be sure to check out our other tutorials, as we'll be sharing a tutorial and hosting a giveaway each week!

Check out each week of our Summer of Tutes!
Week 1: Sunglasses case  featuring Graphix 3
Week 3: Tablet case featuring Jungle Party 
Week 4: Patriotic pennants featuring Tone on Tone
Week 5: Melon mini featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz
Week 6: Lunch bag featuring Graphix 3

Week 7: Placemats featuring Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Week 8: Table topper featuring Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Week 9: Elegant clutch featuring Jungle Party 
Week 10: Modern table runner featuring Prairie Cloth Solids 

Week 11: Striped table runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Week 12: Nautical mini featuring Prairie Cloth Solids
Week 13: Stair Stepper Runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Summer of the Snack Pack! (and giveaway winner)

We've recently added a couple new free quilt patterns that you can download right from the blog. And in case you've been outside enjoying the start of summer rather than taking a daily perusal of all the tabs on the blog, we wanted to point them out to you. 

We're declaring this the Summer of the Snack Pack! When outdoor activities are calling your name, you can still get some quilting done quickly with pre-cut strips. Try these free patterns; while they're designed specifically for the fabric line featured, they'd work great with any of our snack packs! 

Florals with a feminine touch:

"Garden Squares" by Pine Tree Country Quilts

featuring the Vera Cruz snack pack

Click here to download the "Garden Squares" pdf.

Get a head start on the holidays with:

"Christmas Keys" by the Quilting Hen

featuring the Season's Greetings 2015 snack pack

Click here to download the free "Christmas Keys" pdf.

And while these aren't new, they're still favorites!

"Monkey Wrenches" by Airborne Heirlooms

featuring the Shadows Snack Pack

Click here to download the "Monkey Wrenches" pdf.

"Bella Chevron" by Marija Vujcic of Mara Quilt Designs

featuring the Bella Snack Pack

Click here to download the "Bella Chevron" pdf.

Find all of these downloadable patterns (and many others) here.
Ask for these snack packs at your local quilt shop.
Enjoy the Summer of the Snack Pack!

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Thanks to everyone who checked out our first summer tutorial, the sunglasses case! The randomly selected winner, who will receive a bundle of Graphix 3, is Beth:

Congrats! We'll be sending you an email for your mailing address.

Tute-Happy Summer: Sunglasses Case

We're kicking off our Tute-Happy Summer with a sunshine-inspired project: a sunglasses case! This case is generously sized (4" x 8-1/2") to fit even the largest sunglasses and pairs a summery-hued print from the Graphix 3 collection with coordinating solids (have you seen our Prairie Cloth Cotton Solids?).

p.s. Don't miss the chance to win some fabric at the bottom of this post!

And here's a look at the back side:

Materials:

1 fat quarter each aqua print, dark pink solid, and light pink solid

10" square of batting

Coordinating thread

Fabric marking pen

Cutting:

From the aqua print:

Cut two 4-1/2" squares, eight 2-1/2" squares, and one 1" x 8-1/2" strip

From the dark pink solid:

Cut one 8-1/2" x 9" piece, one 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" piece and two 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" pieces

From the light pink solid:

Cut two 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" pieces

Step 1: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all the aqua print squares. Match up each set of two small squares with a pink rectangle.

Step 2: Line up a marked 2-1/2" aqua print square on one end of a 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" dark pink piece. Stitch on the marked line and trim seam allowance to 1/4". 

Step 3: Press open. Repeat with a marked square on the opposite end of the dark pink piece.

Step 4: Your flying geese unit will look like this:

Step 5: Make a second dark pink flying geese units and two light pink flying geese units. Lay out as shown:

Step 6: Sew the units together.

 Step 7: In the same way, use the one 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" dark pink rectangle and two 4-1/2" aqua print squares to make a large flying geese unit measuring 4-1/2" x 8-1/2". 

Step 8: Lay out the 1" x 8-1/2" aqua print strip between the two flying geese units as shown. 

Step 9: Sew the pieces together.

Step 10: Layer the pieced case with a 10" square piece of batting and baste. Quilt as desired. (We marked a diagonal line across the center with the fabric marking pen and then stitched diagonal lines 1/4" apart, working out from the marked line.) Trim quilted piece to measure 9" x 8-1/2". 

Step 11: Fold the quilted piece in half right sides together and pin along the long edge and the bottom. Fold the 9" x 8-1/2" dark pink piece together to measure 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" and pin along the long edge.

Step 12: Sew the quilted piece along the bottom short edge and long edge. Sew the pink piece just along the long edge (this leaves an opening for turning). 

Step 13: Turn the quilted piece right side out and tuck inside the pink lining so right sides are facing. Align the raw edges and pin in place. 

Step 14: Turn right side out and stitch the open end of the lining shut before stuffing into the case.

Step 15: Topstitch along the top edge of the case to secure the lining. If needed, wet the case to remove the fabric marking pen line(s). 

And that's it! Keep your sunglasses safe all summer! We'd love to make one of these in each color of the Graphix 3 collection. 

For a chance to win a bundle of Graphix 3 prints, leave us a comment letting us know that you follow us on the blog or on Facebook. We'd also love to know which Graphix 3 print you like best and what solid color(s) you'd pair it with. Giveaway is open through Monday, June 8th at 11:59 pm EST.

This giveaway is now closed, but be sure to check out our other tutorials, as we'll be sharing a tutorial and hosting a giveaway each week!

Check out each week of our Summer of Tutes!
Week 2: The overnight bag featuring Who's Who
Week 3: Tablet case featuring Jungle Party 
Week 4: Patriotic pennants featuring Tone on Tone
Week 5: Melon mini featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz
Week 6: Lunch bag featuring Graphix 3

Week 7: Placemats featuring Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Week 8: Table topper featuring Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Week 9: Elegant clutch featuring Jungle Party 
Week 10: Modern table runner featuring Prairie Cloth Solids 

Week 11: Striped table runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Week 12: Nautical mini featuring Prairie Cloth Solids
Week 13: Stair Stepper Runner featuring Gemstones, Jewels and Quartz

Celebrating Summer!

We're celebrating summer with a featured sewing tutorial each week! From bags to table decor to small quilts, we'll be sharing some of our favorite new fabric lines in easy-to-follow tutorials to inspire you for a summer of sewing.

Watch for for our first featured tutorial on Friday! 

A quilt of a different color...

One of our favorite things about American Patchwork & Quilting magazine is the Color Option feature. A quilt pattern that might not appeal to you in one style of fabrics might jump to the top of your to-do list in another style. And AP&Q typically shows one or two alternate fabric/color options for each pattern in the issue. 

In the June 2015 issue, the cover quilt, called "Thirty Something" by Sheila Beins, was remade by quilt tester Laura Boehnke using our Lauren collection. From 1930s reproduction prints to these classic reds, greens, browns, and tans...what a difference! 

"Thirty Something" Color Option;
courtesy American Patchwork & Quilting June 2015

See the entire Lauren collection here.
See the Color Option version here.
Find the June 2015 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting here.