Hello dears, Easter is just around the corner, so today I would like to give you some inspiration for a quickly sewn Easter present – I will show you how you can sew a beautifully decorated shoe bag. The bag comes from BERNINA’s “inspiration” magazine. It’s quick and easy to sew and makes a practical gift. So the shoes are neatly and tidily stowed away when travelling. Of course the bag can also be used for other purposes, I sewed a whole set, some made of coated fabrics for shoes and some made of light cotton fabric for food or clothing. So everything has its order in the suitcase and nothing flies around.
To make the bag pretty, I used the BERNINA 475 QE Coffee Edition with its great decorative stitches. The multiple spool holder has proven to be a very useful accessory. So you always have different colors at hand and can rethread faster. The multiple spool holder will be on sale in April as part of the Accessory of the Month campaign. From April 1st (no kidding!) you will find more information here (Germany/Austria) and here (Switzerland).
Sew shoe bags — let’s get started
material
Depending on the intended use, you will need artificial leather, coated fabric, canvas or a cotton fabric with a little firmness for the shoe bag. If the bag is used for shoes that can sometimes be wet or decked, coated fabrics are ideal. All in all, you are completely free as far as the choice of fabric is concerned. Even fabrics with little body can be sufficiently reinforced with the right underlay. I chose a coated canvas for the back and a normal cotton fabric for the front so that the bag stays nice and light. If you like, you can also use a lining for the inside, but the bag also looks great unlined.
In addition to the fabric, the pattern is required. This can be found in issue 2/2021 of the magazine “inspiration”. You can also purchase it separately here: Travel Set
You also need:
Step 1: Cut
First, all three pattern pieces are cut. Remember that the two pieces from the pattern sheet do not include seam allowances. The third part (back) is a simple rectangle, the dimensions of which you can find in the instructions for the magazine/pattern.
Step 2: Attach decorations
This step is optional, but a little decoration never hurts. For a fresh, spring-like look, I cut a strip of the colorful floral fabric, ironed the long edges by 1cm and then sewed them tightly onto the flap of the bag.
Then I set different decorative stitches parallel to each other. There are no limits to your creativity here. Depending on the thickness of your fabric, it may be a good idea to place a backing on the back of the fabric to keep your fabric from puckering.
Tip: The tuck deco stitch foot #46C is also excellent for keeping tucks evenly spaced, even without sewing tucks, and thus creating neat, parallel seams.
For this bag I used the following stitches from my B 475 QE Kaffe Edition:
- Triangles, stitch 401 in color 2520 Garden Rose
- Crosses, stitch 303 in the color light yellow
- Triangles, stitch 406 in color 9923 Lipstick Pinks
- Double straight stitch, stitch 6 in color 2810 Orchid
- Blossoms, stitch from the Kaffe Fassett series, color 2560 Azalea
If you now continue working without lining, it is advisable to finish the outer edge with the overlocker if the fabric is fraying, I have already done this in the picture above.
Step 3: Sew on the zipper
When you’re done decorating, the zipper can be sewn on. To do this, place it right sides together on the flap of the bag and sew it with the zipper foot along the rounded outer edge.
If you sew on a lining, this is then placed right sides together and attached to the zipper.
Then unfold the zipper and stitch tightly from the outside so that no fabric can get caught in the zipper later.
Then the other side of the zipper is sewn to the inside edge of the front piece. So that everything fits together later, I marked the middle of the pocket flap on the zipper, as well as the beginning and end point. The center of the pocket flap should meet the center of the front piece. Then pin the zip again right sides together on the front part according to the markings. The same applies to any lining that may be used. Then sew everything back in the same way as with the pocket flap.
Step 4: Bag Handle
Either you use a simple strap or you make a bag handle that matches the fabric of your shoe bag. That’s how I did it in this case. I cut two strips of fabric for this: one strip from the plain-colored cotton fabric and one strip from the cotton fabric with a floral pattern. I then added decorative stitches to the plain-colored strip of fabric in order to take up this look again.
The two strips of fabric are then sewn together right sides together along the long edges and turned. Then pin the ends of the ribbon to the front piece, 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the center. Secure the band with a few stitches.
Step 5: Sew on the back
First mark the centers of the short edges on the back piece and, measured from a short edge, each 10 cm on the long edges.
Then pin the middle of the short edge, which is farther from the 10cm markings, over the middle marking on the front piece.
Pin the long edges on the front piece up to the 10 cm mark and sew the pinned edges with a straight stitch.
Cut the seam allowance at the 10cm markings and then pin the remaining edge of the back piece to the slant of the front piece. The short edge of the back piece is pinned to the lower short edge of the front piece. The markings for the mids also meet here. Then sew everything around. Danger! When processing without lining, you should leave the zip slightly open to turn. If you are working with lining, an opening must be left on one of the long edges.
If you like, you can then clean up the inside of the bag a little with the overlocker.
Your shoe bag is now complete.
Have fun sewing.
