How to add a lining to a tote bag | Clever Clips

Yesterday on QUILTsocial, I showed how to create a zippered pocket using an orphan quilt block and highlighted several fantastic products, including CLOVER 2501 – Silk Pins (Boxed) – 36mm (1³⁄₈″), OMNIGRID Ruler – 15″ x 15″ (38 x 38cm), OMNIGRID Ruler – 6″ x 24″ (15.2 x 61cm), UNIQUE Double Sided Cutting Mat – 18″ x 24″ (45 x 60cm) and an OLFA RTY-2/GP5 – Printed Handle Rotary Cutter 45mm.

Today is my final post of the week, and it’s time to complete the orphan block tote bag. I have already crafted all the pieces of the bag, so now I need to sew them together.

Attach the handles.

First, I’ll position the handles on each side of the bag. I’ll use my OMNIGRID Ruler – 15″ x 15″ (38 x 38cm) to measure in 3½” from the side and 2½” from the top of the quilted panel for the position of the bottom of one end of one handle.

Clip the handle to the bag.

Now, I’ll use UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Large – 12pcs to hold the handles in place. These clips are about twice the size of the small ones and work great for bigger jobs like this.

Topstitch the ends of the handle.

Now I’ll use my sewing machine to topstitch the two ends of the handle to the quilted panel. I’ll hide the stitching by sewing on four different buttons from the CRAFTING ESSENTIALS Bottle of Buttons – Pink Tones – 75g (2.6oz).

Cut away the corners of the panels.   

I want the bag to have a flat bottom so that it can sit upright without falling over, so I’ll measure in 2″ from the sides and bottom of each panel and cut away a 2″ square.

Sew the panels together.

Now I’ll clip the two panels together and I’ll sew them together along the sides and the bottom, but not along the corners that have been cut away.

Box the corners.

Now I’ll pull open the cut edges of the square and match the side seam with the bottom seam. The cut edges of the corner are now aligned in a single straight line. I’ll use my small, UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips to hold the sides together. I’ll fold the side seam one direction and the bottom seam the opposite direction.

I’ll sew along that edge and then repeat with the other corner of the bag.

Sew the lining.

Next, I’ll do the same with the lining of the bag. I’ll cut away the bottom corners, pin the lining together, and sew the sides and bottom. However, I’ll leave a large space unstitched to use for turning the bag right side out. This bag is quite stiff, so this opening needs to be quite significant – my space is about 5″ long.

Sew the lining to the bag.

Now for the tricky part. I’ve turned the bag right side out, and I’ve left the lining wrong side out. I’ll put the bag inside the lining so that the right sides are together, and I’ll clip them together along the top edge with UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips. The important thing here is to push the handles of the bag down in between the layers, as you don’t want them to be in the way when you start sewing.

Now I’ll sew the two pieces together along the top edge using a ⅝” seam.

Turn the lining.

Now, I’ll turn the lining right side out by pushing the outside of the bag through the hole in the bottom of the lining. Since the bag is so stiff, it’s pretty tight, but with a bit of help from my son, we managed to get it through. Next, I’ll hand-stitch the turning hole closed.

Topstitch the edge.

To finish off the edge of the bag, I’ll topstitch all along the folded edge. But first, I’ll use both sizes of my UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips and UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Large – 12pcs to make sure that the fold is right along the top of the bag and that the lining doesn’t shift while I’m sewing.

Now, I’ll use my sewing machine to topstitch along the entire top edge of the tote bag. Since the bag is so stiff, I’ll slide off my sewing machine’s flatbed to expose the free arm. I can then maneuver the bag more easily under the sewing needle.

Press the inside of the bag.

Now that all of the stitching is done, I’ll use my hand to flatten the lining flat on the inside of the tote bag and then use my OLISO M2Pro Mini Project Iron^TM with Solemate^TM and UNIQUE QUILTING Wool Pressing Mat – 18″ x 24″ – Grey to fuse the lining to the backside of the BOSAL Craft-Tex Plus Double-Sided Fusible Heavy Weight White Interfacing 50cm x 9.14m (20″ x 10yds). This will keep the lining smooth and prevent it from shifting around as I use the bag. It will also make the pockets feel more secure when I’m putting things in them. Having a little iron is great for this type of job because I can more easily avoid ironing over the plastic zipper and can get all the way to the bottom of the bag and down the sides.

And here’s my finished tote bag. I just love how it turned out. I think it will be the perfect bag to carry my crochet projects, like the sweater I’m currently working on.

I’m so happy with all the products I used for my tote bag – I used my Oliso M2Pro Mini Project Iron, CLOVER 2501 – Silk Pins (Boxed) – 36mm (1³⁄₈″), OMNIGRID Ruler – 15″ x 15″ (38 x 38cm), OMNIGRID Ruler – 6″ x 24″ (15.2 x 61cm), UNIQUE Double Sided Cutting Mat – 18″ x 24″ (45 x 60cm), OLFA RTY-2/GP5 – Printed Handle Rotary Cutter 45mm, UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs and OLISO PRO^TM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula Pink^TM for nearly every project I make, and once again they did not let me down. I hadn’t made a bag using the BOSAL Craft-Tex Plus Double-Sided Fusible Heavy Weight White Interfacing 50cm x 9.14m (20″ x 10yds) before, but I really appreciate the structure it adds to the bag. Using the Odif Odicoat Gel Coating – 250ml to make the bag water and dirt resistant was quick and easy.

I hope you enjoyed following along as I made this little bag; see you next time on QUILTsocial.

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 4: How to make a zippered pocket with an orphan quilt block