Monday, September 24, 2012

Bag Tombola

Pear Bag

On November 10th we'll be holding our annual coffee morning and quilt display in Wetherby Town Hall from 10am to 12.30pm. This year as well as the usual refreshments, home baked cakes, gifts and quilting supplies we'll be having a bag tombola. Our members are donating bags that they've made to raise funds for our adopted charity which this year is the RNLI. 

I've been searching around for some free bag patterns and tutorials and have found loads!! Here are just a few:

First the pattern and applique template for the pear bag above is free from Hobbycraft. Try searching their Ideas Library for more.

Moda Bake Shop is a fantastic source of free patterns based mainly on jelly rolls, charm packs etc and has a long list of beautiful bag patterns - all free!


This is one of my favourites - the Charmed Gift Bag which is just perfect for a small child. I've made several in the past and they are very quick and easy and use small amounts of fabric.


Here's another quick and easy shopping bag, made from old curtains or sheets, from the Morsbag site. You can download the pattern and watch an animation which explains how to make it - very clever!

We're not only looking for shopping bags. How about making small bags for a phone, ipad or Kindle, or a toiletries or make-up bag? The DIY Bag Lover site has links to bags made in all shapes and sizes, including ones made from recycled jeans.

Some time ago I published a tutorial for zipped bags on my blog:

I use this version  for storing my small quilting rulers but it could be a pencil case or gadget bag. With a little alteration it makes lovely boxy bags like these:

Lastly, one of the best sites to search for quilting and sewing inspiration is Pinterest where members can 'pin' photos of their favourite things and the photo has a link to the original website where it was found. This morning I came across a host of pictures of gorgeous bags on the Travel Handmade ideas board - those should keep anyone in bags for a long, long time!

Let us know if you have a favourite free bag pattern which we could share.

Happy Stitching!

Hazel x