Squee! You guys, we have a guest! (The bloggy kind, so I don't have to change out of my sweats or clean the house or anything!)Farah from over at Farah Makes Stuff is AWESOME (she's got sewing GAME!).
Today she's been kind enough to come on by and share the skinny on a Man Gift that is pretty much, oh, the bomb. It's useful, cute and appliqued and comes complete with instructions that ACTUALLY make sense! ( I know right!?)
Ready?
Take it away Farah!
Hello luck and bliss readers!
My name is Farah, from Farah makes Stuff. I was soooo honoured when Erin asked me to do a guest post for her man gift series. I have been reading her blog for a while, and on top of her adorable writing style, I love her creativity and resourcefulness! Plus, she lives in the same city as me! Toronto for the win!
Sewing for a man can be a challenge, but since I have 2 very special men in my life, I am always up for that challenge. My project is a man-bag (murse?), or a special, masculine, custom bag for your man and his iPad. I first made this bag for myself, but when my husband got an iPad, we realized it fit perfectly. So a few tweaks on the pattern, and an applique chosen by the man, and we have the iPad Man-Bag.
Here we have a nice, masculine, messenger bag style satchel, which can be gussied up with an applique, or left simple. Inside is a padded sleeve for an Ipad (or heck, maybe even for another electronic gadget) plus room for a wallet, keys, comic book etc. The applique can be suited to your man's own interests.
Or make one for your self. I made this pink one (minus the iPad sleeve) almost 2 years ago and use it as a purse very often.
What you need:
-Main fabric (A) - About 1 meter of a heavy cotton (home dec weight, denim or twill would be great. I used Corduroy)
-Lining (B) - About 1/2 meter of lining, I used black twill, but a lighter cotton would work)
-Ipad sleeve fabric (maybe 1/2 meter?)
-a bit of poly batting
-24 inches of twill tape
-a bit of velcro
-for applique, scrap of fabric (you could use the lining fabric), and some Heat n Bond
-some metal snaps or buttons
-a bit of bias tape
Cut List:
-from main fabric (A),
cut 1 piece 12 x 20.5 inches (front/back)
2 pieces 9 x 2.5 inches (sides)
1 piece 12 x 18 inches (front flap)
1 piece 8 x 58 inches (this was the width of my fabric) (strap)
from lining (B),
cut 1 12 x 20 inches (front/back)
cut 2 9 x 2.5 inches (sides)
on the side pieces (both the main fabric and lining) round one of the shorter edges so you have a U shape. I traced around a round pin box to get the round shape.
On the front flap piece, round all 4 corners (i used the same pin box to round the corners)
from the twill tape,
cut 2 pieces 8 inches long, and 2 pieces 4 inches long
Sewing Directions (1/4 inch seams)
1- Sew front/back piece of A to side pieces of A by easing the longer sides of the front/back piece to the U curve of the side piece. Do this for both side pieces. You will find that the front/back piece is a little bit too long and there will be extra fabric. Ensure the extra fabric is on the same side (at the back) for each side.
2 - Repeat step 1 with the lining pieces B
3 - Turn lining assembly right side out, and put into main fabric assembly, matching top raw edges, and side seams. pin in place. Trim extra length on the back so the edges line up all around. (the extra length is there to allow some room for error in sewing around the curves on the side pieces, we don't need it anymore). Sew lining to main bag around top edge, leaving a 2 inch gap on the top back for turning.
4 - Turn bag ride side out through the gap, press lining inside bag, and slip seam allowance of the gap in. pin gap closed. Top stitch around top of the bag, closing gap as you stitch. set bag aside.
5 - Lay front flap piece face up in front of you, and decide on applique placement. The 12 inch shorter edge is the bottom/top of the flap piece.
let's take a break now and discuss the applique. The applique on my bag is a Cactaur, which is a monster from the Final Fantasy video games. My husband picked this design. On the pink bag seen above, I appliqued an asterisk on the bag, because I thought it matched the graphic print of the fabric. Make sure the applique is a simple design, as you don't want to be sewing anything too complicated. A mustache? a Muppet? perhaps a star wars emblem? How about a giant squid? or even an apple. You could even do a monogram.
Google the picture you want, and look through the images to find one that will work. Once you have selected your image, trace it onto the paper side of the Heat n Bond. (I put my paper right up onto my computer screen and trace it with a felt tip pen, instead of bothering to print it first). Remember that it will be backwards when ironed on to the bag, so ensure your picture is flipped. Cut out the heat n bond loosely around your picture, and then press it (paper side up, iron on silk setting) onto the back of your applique fabric. Now cut out the applique fabric and heat and bond at the same time, being as precise as possible. There. You made an applique. Now back to the sewing instructions.
6 -Peel the paper off the back of your applique and place it face up on your front flap piece. The applique should be only in the lower third of your flap piece, and be clear about 1/2 inch from the edges for seam allowances. once you are happy with the placement, iron in place. You can go hotter than the silk setting this time to make sure it really sticks.
7 - Edge stitch around the perimeter of the applique. This may not be necessary if you are using the permanent (ultra) heat n bond, but I like too anyway both for definition and for security.
8 - Fold your flap piece in half, right sides together, matching corners, so the applique is in the inside. You should now have a 12 x 9 flap piece, with a fold at the top, and rounded corners at the bottom.
9 - sew around the sides and bottom of flap, leaving a 2 inch gap on one side for turning. clip curves before turning.
10 - turn right side out, press flat, top stitch around perimeter, closing gap as you stitch. Flap done.
11 - pin the flap to the top bag of the bag. The top of the flap sits outside the bag, about 1/2 inch down from the top edge of the bag.
12 - stitch flap in place by top stitching close to the edge of the flap.
13 - make strap. Fold strap piece lengthwise in half and press. fold each raw edge into the center (as if you are making really big bias tape) and press. Top stitch around entire strap, tucking raw edges on short ends in as you sew.
14 Stitch strap onto bag on the sides by sewing a box with an x in it on the strap. The straps should be sewed on the inside of the bag.
15 - Add some snaps or buttons (and button holes, of course) to the bag to close it up and you're done your bag! Stop here if you man has no need for a padded iPad pouch.
For the padded iPad sleeve
1 - cut two pieces of fabric, 17 x 10.5 (one lining, one main), and one piece batting a bit bigger than that.
2 - place the lining fabric face down. place the batting on that, then the main fabric on top, face up. make sure edges of lining and main fabric line up, batting should stick out a bit around. pin in place.
3 - add some quilting stitches through the whole thing to hold the layers in place, starting from the middle and working out. I stitched vertical lines 2 inches apart. Use a walking foot if you have one. If not, should be okay anyway.
4 - Once it is quilted, trim off excess batting, and fold in half, with the main fabric to the outside. you should have a pouch which is about 8.5 x 10.5.
5 - use a serger, or a zig -zag stitch close to the edge to sew up up the side seams. I stitched on the outside with raw edges showing because i did not want the bulkiness of a seam on the inside with the iPad. if you prefer, sew wrong sides together and flip right side out. You could also finish the side seams with bias tape, but my sewing machine would not go through all those layers.
6 - finish top edge of pouch with bias tape. iPad sleeve done.
Straps to hold iPad in bag
1 - sew the soft side of a small square of Velcro onto one edge of each the longer twill tape pieces, tucking in raw edge under velcro. sew the prickly side onto the shorter pieces the same way.
2 - about 2 inches from each edge, pin the shorter twill tape pieces in place on the top back of the bag only, not on the flap. this picture may help understand where they go. The bag is inside out here. The straps are placed on that little 1/2 inch overlap we left on the inside when sewing the flap in place. Place it so the velcro is face down when the straps are pointing down towards the bottom of the bag. sew in place.
3 - sew the corresponding long pieces of twill tape onto the bottom of the bag, also about 2 inches from the sides, and close to the back of the bag. This time your velcro is face up when the strips are in place. see this picture below. when sewing, the stitches will show on the outside of the bag, so make sure your thread matches the bag. Again, the picture shows the bag inside out.
I know I am not very good at writing instructions. Please feel free to email me with any questions, and let me know if you make the man-bag!
OK! Me again. Didn't she do well! (You should go on over and hit the folla' button.)
Thanks THIS MUCH for sharing Farah.
x
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