The easiest way to add a magnetic closure to a bag

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I showed you 12 easy steps to sew a hanging zippered pocket into my crossbody bag. I used a COSTUMAKERS Activewear One Way Separating Zipper 35cm (14″) – White – 1764 for my pocket and OLFA SCS-1 – 5″ Stainless Steel Serrated Edge Scissors, UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs and my Oliso Pro TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron helped to get the job done right.

Today I’ll show you how to use HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″) and an OLISO M2Pro Mini Project Iron^TM with Solemate^TM to add UNIQUE SEWING Invisible Magnetic Snaps – Sew-On – 12mm (¹⁄₂″) – 2 sets to my crossbody bag.

HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″) is such an amazing product. It’s a lightweight iron-on adhesive with a strong bond without adding extra weight or stiffness to a project. The solid sheet adhesive and paper-backing allow designs to be drawn, traced or printed and easily cut out. Once applied, HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE is easily sewn through, making it ideal for multi-layer appliqués, quilting, home décor, wearables and much more. I love using it for wool applique but today I’ll use it to add magnetic snaps to my tote bag.

HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE has a paper backing which allows designs to be drawn, traced or printed and then easily cut out.

First, I’ll cut two small rectangles of the HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″) to use in my tote bag.

Now I’ll cut two small rectangles of the fabric I’m using for the lining of my bag and then fold them in half along the long sides to make two smaller rectangles. A quick press helps them to keep their shape.

Cut two small rectangles of lining fabric then fold in half and press.

I’ll stitch along two sides to make a little pouch.

Stitch along two sides to make a little pouch.

Next, I’ll use my Oliso M2Pro Mini Project Iron to iron one small rectangle of HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″) to one side of each of the little pouches and then I’ll remove the paper backing.

Iron the fusible web onto one side of each pouch and then remove the paper backing.

I’ll use my Oliso M2Pro Mini Project Iron^TM with Solemate^TM to iron the pouches to the inside of my tote bag, making sure that the adhesive side is down and the open side of the pouches is lined up with the top of the bag. I also used this small iron to fuse larger pieces of HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″) farther inside the bag. This will be used to attach the lining to the outside of the bag. This small iron is great for this type of job as my large iron will barely fit inside.

Fuse the pouch to the inside of the top of the tote bag.

Now I can drop one of the UNIQUE SEWING Invisible Magnetic Snaps – Sew-On – 12mm (¹⁄₂″) – 2 sets of magnets into each pocket. The important part here is to ensure that the magnets attract each other. Bring the two sides of the bag together and see what happens. If they don’t attract, flip one of the magnets so that the opposite side faces the outside of the bag. The two magnets should now attract each other to hold the bag closed.

Place one magnet inside each of the two pockets making sure that they attract each other when the front and back of the bag are together.

To assemble the bag body I’ll place the lining inside of the bag, making sure that the side seams of the lining, line up with the side seams of the outside of the bag. The little pouches with the magnets are now hidden between the outside of the bag and the lining. I’ll use UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs to keep everything in place while I baste along the top edge of the bag.

Insert the lining of the bag and clip the lining to the outside of the bag.

The next step is to sew bias binding along the top edge of the bag. I’ll use the UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs to keep the binding from moving while I stitch it in place. The binding is sewn to the inside of the bag first.

Clip bias binding to the inside of the bag along the top edge.

To complete the main body of the bag I’ll flip the binding to the outside of the bag and use matching thread to topstitch along the folded edge.

Topstitch along the folded edge of the binding.

Wow – I can’t believe I’m down to the last step of making this bag. Today the Oliso M2Pro Mini Project Iron,  HeatnBond EZ PRINT FEATHERLITE 10 pcs – 22 x 28cm (8½″ x 11″)  and UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs made adding the UNIQUE SEWING Invisible Magnetic Snaps – Sew-On – 12mm (¹⁄₂″) – 2 sets to my tote bag fun and easy.

Tomorrow I’ll show you how to make an adjustable purse strap using a UNIQUE SEWING Slide Buckle – Metal – 25mm (1″) – Silver – 2 pcs and my bag will be finished. See you tomorrow for the big tote bag reveal!

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: 12 easy steps to sew a zippered pocket into a fabric bag

Go to part 5: Make a strap adjustable with a slide buckle

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