This Cosmetic Bag has been very helpful when I was traveling in the past two years - I use it for all my cosmetic as well as cleaning utensils (my shampoo, tooth brush, mascara, etc.). It is big enough to carry all the necessary items and therefore perfect for my weekend travels.
The best thing is that if I spill anything while traveling, I can clean this bag quickly: Ijust hold it under running water and clean it with a little bit of soap.
What you will need:
·
Laminated
cotton (width is 44”) for outer side: 12” for non directional prints, 18” for
prints that need to be cut according to their pattern (e.g. when stripes need
to run down and not across the bag)
·
Laminated
cotton (width is 44") for inner side: 12” for non directional prints, 18” for directional
prints
·
Zipper:
at least 13" / 33cm (or longer)
·
Sewing
Machine, rotary cutter or scissors, thread, about 2 hours
·
Read
through the whole tutorial and make sure to understand all the steps before
starting to cut and sew.
What you will need to cut from your outer fabric:
·
1
piece: 11 ½” x 17 ½” / 29cm x 44cm (width
x length for directional prints)
·
2
pieces: 4” x 7” / 10cm x 18cm (width x length for directional prints)
·
1
piece: 2 ½” x 4” / 6cm x 10cm (only if your zipper is longer
than 13”/33cm and needs to be cut to the correct length and then covered at the
end)
What you will need to cut from your inner fabric:
·
1
piece: 11 ½” x 17 ½” / 29cm x 44cm
·
2
pieces: 7” x 4” / 18cm x 10cm
·
1
piece: 11” x 11 ½” / 28cm x 29cm
Seam allowances are ¼” or ½ cm.
1.
Take
your inner piece (11” x 11 ½” / 28cm x 29cm) and sew the longer sides together
using a ¼ “ or ½ cm seam allowance thus creating a tube that is 11 ½” / 29cm
long. Press the seam open with your finger and turn inside out.
2.
Position
the seam you just created so it is in the middle of the rube and finger press
the edges. Lay the part with the seam facing down on the middle of your bigger
inner fabric rectangle (11 ½” x 17 ½” / 29cm x 44cm). Make sure the edges of
the 11 ½” / 29cm long sides align.
3.
Pin
in place. I used paper clips for that because needles will leave permanent
marks and are also difficult to use on laminated fabric. Others have had
success with gluing seam allowances in place or using hair pins.
4.
Now
turn this piece around and draw two lines on the back of the rectangle. Both
are supposed to be 2 ½” / 6 ½ cm from the middle line. Sew along these lines.
Also make sure to secure the layers by sewing down on the seam allowances where
the fabric pieces meet.
5.
Take
a look from the right side.
6.
Now
draw two lines down from one of the sewn lines to the edge. The spacing from
the edges should be 3 ½” / 9 cm. This will create 3 pockets where you can store
smaller objects later. If you prefer to keep one larger pocket then you are
done with this step. If you prefer to have another three small pockets instead
of one large pocket, repeat this step on the other side.
7.
Take
a look from the right side.
8.
Take
all your smaller rectangles and a round water glass or circle the width of
these rectangles. Position the water glass on one side of a rectangle and align
the edges. Now draw half way around the water glass and cut along this line so
that all four rectangles now have a round edge on one side.
9.
Mark
the middle of this rounded edge.
10.
Lay
the middle of the round edge on the top of the middle of your finished larger
rectangle (the one with the pockets). Start sewing them together slowly. You
can use pins/ clips to put your fabric in place but it will be easier without.
11.
Just
sew a few stitches, keep the needle down, align the layers in front of your
sewing foot and sew a few stitches again. Don’t stretch your fabric.
12.
Don’t
sew all the way to the edge of the smaller rectangle but instead stop 1” / 3cm
before, leave your needle down, fold over the edge of the smaller rectangle to
the left side about ¼” / ½ cm and the sew to the edge.
13.
Start
from the middle again for the other side of this end of the cosmetic bag.
14.
Repeat
step 10 to 13 for the other side.
15.
Repeat
Step 10 to 14 for the outer fabric.
16.
You
can chose to finger press your edges in direction to the bigger rectangle and
then topstitch (from the left side) to make your seams stay in place better.
But it really isn’t necessary.
17.
Now
pin your zipper to the edge of your inner piece. Make sure to fold over ¼ “ / ½
cm to the left side just before the start and end of your zipper.
18.
Now
sew in your zipper. Backstitch at the beginning and end.
19.
Take
your outer piece and pin on top of inner piece aligning the edges along the
zipper.
20.
After
sewing turn the bag inside out.
21.
Topstitch
along your edges, joining the loose pieces from your inner and outer fabric.
22.
If
your zipper is too long for your cosmetic bag, then cut it to 13” / 33 cm now.
If it is just long enough skip this step. If you don’t like the finish as seen
on the first picture, skip the following steps, you have a finished bag.
23.
Take
the small piece of fabric left and sew it to the cut end of the zipper, right
side facing the left side (facing downwards) of the zipper. Align the end of
the zipper with the 2 ½” / 6cm side of the fabric.
24.
Sew
with ½” along this edge.
25.
Now
fold the fabric over this seam and the edge of the zipper. Fold the side edges
inwards so that zipper is covered. Finger press the seams.
26.
Now
take this small tube you created and fold it over twice. Stitch on top of it to
secure your zipper end.
27.
Congratulations,
you have a new cosmetic bag.
If you make a bag with this tutorial or have any
questions, suggestions or improvements, please leave a comment.
You can find the printable version by clicking here. Make sure to set your settings to "fit to page" if you are not using a Din A4 paper format.
You can find the printable version by clicking here. Make sure to set your settings to "fit to page" if you are not using a Din A4 paper format.
Thank you and have a wonderful start into the new
week!
