Crafts · Crochet

How To Add Lining To A Crochet Bag ~ Fabulous Flamingo Bag Part 2

I am overjoyed by the response that my Fabulous Flamingo Bag has received since I pushed the publish button.  I absolutely love the design, & didn’t think it was possible to love it anymore, but I’ll tell you how to make any crochet bag 100 times better!!…..Line it!

This is a must for so many reasons:

Crochet has a tendency to stretch, with a lined bag, the material takes all of the weight putting a stop to this.

As with the body stretching, the strap have to take all of the weight, so I’m going to show you how to line this as well.

The finish of a lined bag, takes your handmade item to a whole other level, a true professional finish.

Also some crochet bags are so pretty with their fancy lacy stitches, but in reality this just isn’t practical for everyday items that we keep in a bag, i.e. pens, keys, makeup…A lining will keep everything safe and contained.

Ok so this tutorial will tell you how to line the Fabulous Flamingo Bag  but it can easily be adapted to fit any shape or size bag.

 

You Will Need

  • Crochet Bag
  • Fabric (I used one fat quarter)
  • Tape measure/ruler
  • Sewing Machine (not essential but it helps)
  • Pins
  • Neddle & Thread
  • Scissors
  • Iron

Instructions

Here are the measurements of my bag:

Bag – 26 cm x 28 cm high
Base – 9 cm x 19 cm
Strap – 84 cm long

 

1 – To start you need two pieces of material the same size as your bag, plus extra for seams (1/4″ extra around all edges) my piece of material was just big enough to have one piece folded over in half, giving me only 1 side seam to sew.  Put this main piece of fabric to the side, now to cut out the bottom piece.

2 – Draw around the base of your bag, adding 1/4″ as you go.  My base is oval, (your base might be rectangular, square or circular) simply trace around your base.  If your bag is a tote style bag with no base, then you can skip this part and simply sew across the bottom seam too & I’ll meet you at step 8.

Cut out you oval with a pair of scissors.

Iron all pieces now, you can’t do it when it’s in the bag!  We will come back to the base in a minute.

3 –  Pin your fabric together (right sides facing) and using the sewing machine, sew straight down the side. (don’t forget to back stitch at the beginning and the end to secure your stitches)

 

4 – Fold the base in half (length ways) and make a crease at both ends to mark the middle.

5 – Line up the crease on the base with the seam of the main lining and pin together.

 

Repeat on the opposite side.

Line up the edges of the main lining and base and pin all the way round.

6 – Remember how much of a seam allowance you left, when you drew around the base of the bag, if 1/4″, then make sure you use the same measurement when you sew around the base.  Using a sewing machine, start on a long straight edge (don’t forget to back stitch) going slower when you get to the curved edges, keep checking that all fabric is tucked underneath and not getting caught in your stitches. (back stitch again when you meet your beginning stitches)

7 – Trim excess material using scissors, to get rid of the bulk of material.

 

8 – Place the lining inside your bag and fold over the top to the height you would like it, (typically one or two crochet stitches from the top) When you’re happy, iron the fold so it is straight and crisp.

9 – Using the crochet stitches as a guide and a straight line, pin the lining to the bag.

Using a needle and coordinating thread, hand sew the lining in place. ** Insert the needle into the bag, only just catching the crochet fabric, very close to the lining to hide the stitch (make sure your needle doesn’t go all the way through to the front of the bag), then insert the needle through the lining along the ironed crease, and repeat from **

10 – Measure the strap, I wanted my fabric to go all the way to the button, when I made my bag I attached it by button, so I could easily detach the strap. If you have already sewn your strap into place then your fabric strap lining will stop at the join to the bag.

I used the last piece of fabric that I had left from my fat quarter, I had to cut into three pieces (you might be lucky and have enough material to cut one long piece)

These pieces need to be folded in three, first bring the top down , then fold the bottom up slightly overlapping, and check your size against the width of your strap, when you’re happy, iron the folds.

This is what your folds should look like, as I have three pieces to pin together, I simply pinned wrong sides together and used the sewing machine to sew them.

Pin the fabric to the bag strap.

 

11 – Machine sew the strap lining to the strap.

 

 

12 – Lastly I buttoned the strap in place and hand sewed the strap to the bag, stitching only along the very top on the main bag lining, I hid my stitches just under the lining and made sure I only caught the lining and a bit of the strap, (I didn’t want to see my stitches from the outside)

This is all the fabric that I had left from 1 fat quarter!

I hope this has helped you to make your beautiful crochet bag, amazing!!!

 

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