Reversible bag
I was cutting fabrics to make a reversible bag when I read the newest comment in last post where Juliet asked me about sewing reversible Charlie bag. Yes, I cut fabrics in front of my computer, and everytime it blinks, I’ll stop what I’m doing to look at my inbox, twitter, facebook, etc. Bad habit.
Anyway, there’s actually a post in BurdaStyle about lining the Charlie bag. But when I checked it out, it turned out a bit different than what I usually do. Unfortunately, I can’t remember how or when I learned my technique. Maybe I read it somewhere, or someone told me how (my mother?), or maybe I figured it out by myself. So I took pictures while I sew my bag to show how I make it.
The fabric on one side of the bag is leftover from my bib dress. I found this interesting fabric with orange and brown pattern in the nearest thrift store for less than $5 and use it for the other side of the bag. I love thrifting! My bag is actually not a Charlie bag, it is slightly smaller and has rounded bottom. But it is similar to Charlie bag in terms of shape and sewing technique.
Edit: Pattern for my reversible bag is now available for download. Just click the download link at the bottom of this post to get it. The tutorial is also available in PDF file.
Disclaimer: You may use the finished products for both personal and commercial use (craft shops or markets only – no mass production). Please do not pass off the pattern and tutorial as your own. Thank you!
.E
The Tutorial
1. Here is 4 pieces of fabrics after being cut. We’re gonna refer them as set A and set B. If you want pockets, sew them before going to the next step.
2. Sew the bottom and sides of each set. My bag has a rounded bottom and a dart, Charlie bag has straight edges.
If you use my pattern, sew the darts before sewing the bottom and sides of bag.
3. Put set B in set A, right sides together, and sew around the straps. Stop stitching about 20 cm before the tops of the straps. If your machine has reverse stitch, use it on each end of stitchings to secure it.
4. Clip rounded corners.
5. Turn the right sides out through one of the straps. It will be a bit difficult at first and you’re gonna wonder if you’re doing it right, but just keep doing it. You will feel a thug and after that the bag will turn right sides out smoothly.
Pull out each of the remaining straps.
6. Look! You almost have a bag!
7. Sew the straps of each set together. I often sew the straps absent-mindedly and then found out that I’ve attached them wrong! So please make sure that you sew each strap to the strap beside it, NOT the strap that is in front of it.
8. Press the seams open. Fold seam allowances on straps and press. Also press edges of bag to make it easier for topstitching.
9. Match the tops seams together and pin all open edges of straps. You can also use fusible tapes to make sure it is neat. But I will use pins here.
10. Topstitch all edges of bag. I use different colour thread for the bobbin.
A reversible bag!
Thank you for reading and I hope this post is useful for you!
Click to download:
Reversible bag pattern (113160) ¦ Reversible bag - instructions (81363)
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Absolutely fantastic! Thanks a lot for the pattern, easy to understand instructions and to sew! I love it!
Hi, thanks so much for your awesome tutorials! I started making this today and had the same issue as Rachel, I ended up sewing set B inside set A without turning it right side out. I turned it inside out so many times I almost gave up. I didn’t notice that was what you’re supposed to do until I read through the comments. Could you change the instructions to make it a little bit more clear for others?
Well I don’t know, I think saying that they are supposed to be ‘right sides together’ in step 3 pretty much sums it up. There are not that many who have the same issue. Thank you for the input though!
[...] on May 30th, 2010 in: LifeShareOur bags!Do you recognize these bags? Yes, on the right side is my bag, and the pretty bag with rosettes is Yoshimi’s bag! They were sitting together side by side [...]
I thought this bag is BIG. it looks big on you… I was too excited when I made it then became not- so-so to see the finished product. Maybe I should pay more attention to the measurements given instead of just relying on the pic. I’ll just have to alter the size to my likings.
But the whole Idea is brilliant and thanks for being so generous.
Yeah I guess you should have. You’re welcome!
I love your pattern, and I jumped into making it right away.
But… I’m a new sewer and I’m stuck!
When you put set B into set A, did you turn B right side out? So in other words, all the right sides (of both sets) should be touching?
Thanks!
Hi Rachel, yes all the right sides of both sets should be touching when you stitch around the strap. I hope you can make it!
I made this bag last night, and I really like it. My only problem is the straps are too short. I can barely get it on my shoulder. Are you a very petite girl? I think the next one I make will have longer straps. I’ll try to post a photo of it on my blog tomorrow. Thanks for the tutorial and pattern! It’s super cute, and just the type of bag I like to carry!
Owww sorry about that!
I am quite small, but the straps were okay for most people. I guess it’s all about preferences then
Thank you for trying out the pattern and giving me some feedback!
[...] Good Finds Thursday Posted on May 20, 2010 by dontpanic43 1. Reversible Tote [...]
Love the bag!! I just download the pattern and will be sewing shortly. Thanks for sharing the pattern
Many thanks for this tutorial and pattern, this bag is lovely and it is exacty what I was looking for for my nieces.
Cute bag. Thanks for sharing, the pattern is giving me lots of ideas.
I had a BLAST making this bag today. Thank you so much for the excellent tutorial! I got a huge “ooh-ahh” factor from my daughters. I can’t wait to make another one. I ended up following another tutorial for an inside zipper pocket that I added to the lining, as well as an applique idea from Zakka Sewing. I’ll be posting this on my blog on Friday for Sew & Tell Friday with Amy over at http://www.amylouwho.com, if you’re interested in seeing the finished product. Thank you again!
Hahaha I can imagine the ‘oooh-aah’ factor, it always makes me feel like a magician performing tricks! Thank you for trying out the pattern, I really want to see how it looks with zipper and applique!
Sorry that it’s taken me so long to send you the link! If you’d like to see the finished product, you can check it out in my Facebook album (link below). There are a lot of other photos, but the photos of this bag are near the end of the album, if that helps. I’m just getting ready to make another one for my friend’s daughter. They’ll be moving soon, and I really want to make her a bag. Thanks again!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=351373&l=f492eee0a8&id=100000117294187
.-= Dayna´s last blog ..Bits of My Weekend — A Swazi Adventure & Other Tidbits =-.
What a cute bag! Thanks so much for sharing! =)
[...] http://verypurpleperson.com/2010/04/making-reversible-bag.html [...]
[...] what to do with it until I came across another amazing tutorial by verypurpleperson – The Reversible bag. I didn’t follow the tutorial to the letter, as I haven’t tackled darts yet (still [...]
let me tell you some thing interesting a few days ago i lost my lather bag which was pretty similar in shape as yours and i loved it i was realy very sad to loose it but now i can make one easily with your instructions in denim THANK U SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
Oh wow, this is great! I just bought a pattern for the Amy Butler birdie sling bag…this is a WAY better tutorial and much simpler, plus smaller. Boo, too bad I didn’t see this first!
I am wondering – about how much material do you use to make the bag? I didn’t see clear yardage / meters on the instructions.
I used my scraps to make my bag, so I don’t know exactly how much material you need for the bag.
I guess you can find out yourself.
i love the look and style of this bag! I can’t wait to make it i just have to buy the fabric… >_<
Nice tutorial. Made one myself. See my blog.
Thank you! Ingrid.
Great bag! I love that little pocket in that quirky position!
Arigatou, arigatou, arigatou! You are so generous to put that together for us! Another reason to love your blog…!
Hola. Encontre este tutorial en el blog de whip up, me ha gustado mucho tu bolso, asi que he querido compartir el tutorial en mi blog de labores.
Un saludo
Yolanda
http://intentodelabores.blogspot.com
That’s a very good idea. I guess i can try that to get a replacement for a bag I picked up in a garage sale a couple of months ago. It’s always been my goal of saving and this is surely something new and I hope I can muster my creativity to create something as good as what you’ve made.
Hi,
I just discovered your blog and i LOVE it! Your creations, your stories, your sensibility, your generosity, your shyness, i think you are great!
I just bought my very first sewing machine, i never used one before. I have hopes, but i need confidence and seeing your blog is very inspiring. I’m going to use your wonderful reversible bag tutorial to do my first project. I hope i will be able to make it!
Thank you so much for sharing!
I’ve seen so many different ways of doing the straps, but yours is the clearest! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for your generosity!
Your bag is gorgeous and I’m looking forward to making one (or two) tonight.
Love the pattern! Tried it out today. In fact, it was more or less my first sewing project! I didn’t make it to be reversible, but attached two elastic pockets outside and one pocket inside. Definitely going to blog about the tutorial!
Neat! That’s similar to how I made my reversible Charlie Bags too – When I got to the handles, though, I hadn’t left a gap, so when they got to be right side out, I sewed the handle ends together and then pushed the seam allowance to one side and zig-zagged it to the handle on what I considered the “inside”. It’s not fancy, but was simple to do and has held up well. Yours is a much more elegant solution.
Hi,
I love your pattern and tutorial, and super appreciate your generosity.
I wonder f you would give me a little more of your time.
I cannot seem to print the pdf in Acrobat with the right dimensions. It’s something about the fit page vs. the actual size. Can you tell me how I should have the reader set or direct me to some instructions? It’s driving me crazy. I keep printing out patterns that are slightly off.
* pulls hair out in frustration*
Thanks, Robin
Hi Robin,
the pattern is supposed to be printed on A4 paper in actual size scale.
In reader, you can go to the print window and look under ‘Page Handling’, then on ‘Page Scaling’, choose ‘none’.
But I may suggest not too worry too much about the dimensions. As this is a bag pattern, missing a few mm would not affect the shape. Hope it helps!
I use the same technique for my charlie bag and most of my handbags too…The instruction on Burdastyle baffles me, just can’t seem to figure it out
Love your website…
I LOVE this bag!! I have to make one – thanks so much for sharing
!!
I cannot get the download to work…it keeps telling me that the file does begin with “PDF”. Help? I adore this bag!
Maybe your browser can not open PDF files. You can use right click and ‘Save link as’ to download the file to your computer. Hope it works!
Gorgeous bad!! I love how it’s reversible. May try that idea in sewing class one of these weeks… Thanks for the step by step pics!
Novita, thank you for this tutorial! You are such an inspiration!
I am quite novice in sewing but I have the will to try and learn by myself. I made the bag today and I was quite proud of myself… When it was done, I realized there was something wrong in my bag… Oh, no! the straps!… Ok, not big deal: I’ll hang it from my arm, and tomorrow I make another one!
Thank you for your beautiful blog and all the wonderful things you share with us. I wish I had 1/8 of your talent!
XOX
I made the mistake with the straps all the time too, Marga!
But I’m happy to know that you’ve tried the pattern, I hope that was fun! Thank you!
Good to know I’m not the only one
Finished mine yesterdayevening and discovered this morning that I attached the straps wrong….
Oh well, time to make another one.
Oh no! Maybe I should add a warning or something in the tutorial. It seems that a lot of people has made the same mistake
Great tutorial! This will be my next project! I love that it’s reversible!
[...] It’s a pouch and it contains a reversible market bag. I made it after seeing this post. [...]
[...] can download the pattern here. The instruction for making the bag is in this post, or download here if you prefer it in PDF [...]
aww, that fabric is so adorable! im so jealous — you always seem to be able to acquire fun and bold prints that looks great!
This is great with pics! please more of these!!
Great tute, Novita and love the fabric you used:)
Love the bag and the fabrics!!! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-simple-reversible-bag/2010/04/17/
–Anne
[...] verypurpleperson shows how to make a reversible bag. The simple lines will show off a fabulous fabric print. Go to the tutorial. [...]
Nice bag but I love your dress more
Saw someone already commented on it and that you haven’t made it yourself… lovely anyway! Love your blog to! 
thank you so much!!! you’re the best, novita. it was really nice of you to answer my request.
your bag is gorgeous.
thank you, again!
You’re welcome, Juliet!
I hope the tutorial is useful for you. Please tell me if there’s something not clear
Ooh reversible! What a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing this, I’ll be linking.
I love all your stuff. I made a link to my blog from this tutorial. Hope you dont mind.
this is great project for me who is still novice in the sewing world.
tks for sharing your creativity novita.
you are sooo inspiring. everything you make looks delicate and well crafted…love your updates!
lovely fabric novita, im in need of a bag for my flight with my daughter next week, i think i will try this too …love your dress, did you also make it!??
Thank you! The fabric of the dress is vintage YSL jersey from my mother, she has all kinds of fabrics! But I didn’t sew the dress, a friend of mine did it for me as a present
I love it!! thank you for posting the step by step tutorial, I’ll try to make one soon. I love the shape and your fabrics too
I love the round shape at the bottom, and I love the brown and orange fabric, great for the spring! Thanks for this tutorial, it’s clear and helpful.
thanks, novita! this tutorial is really helpful! i has just started sewing, and this looks like a nice beginner’s project. thank you so much.