Quilted Art Supply Bag Tutorial

This Christmas I decided to make my granddaughter an art supply bag to hold all of her art supplies.    I designed the pattern around the art supplies that I had bought.  On the left side is a dry erase board with various dry erase items that she could use with that.  On the right side is the basic coloring books, paper and crayons.  I will do my best to describe how I put it together.

Here is a list of what you will need to use:

Main Bag:
2 pieces of 28"x18" fabric
1 piece of 28"x18" batting

Straps:
2 pieces of 6"x 29" fabric

Larger Bottom Pockets:
2 pieces of  18"x 20" fabric
2 pieces of 18"x10" wonder under fusible webbing
2 pieces of 18"x 2 1/2" fabric


Smaller Top Pockets:
1 piece of 22"x 14" fabric
1 piece of 22"x7" wonder under fusible webbing
1 piece of "22x 10"fabric
1 piece of 22"x5" wonder under fusible webbing
2 pieces of 22"x 2 1/2" fabric for binding

Finishing Touches
2 pieces of 29"x 2 1/2" fabric for binding
2 pieces of 19"x 2 1/2" fabric for binding
1 piece of 16" Velcro
matching thread

 Instructions:

 

1. Main Bag:  Cut 2 pieces of fabric

and 1 piece

of batting at 28"x18"

 

 First I laid out all the art supplies that I wanted to use in order to get an idea of how big that I wanted to make it.  I decided to cut my two fabrics at 28" x 18".  That way I would have a little extra to trim for a cleaner edge. Sandwich the batting in-between the two other fabrics with the right sides out.

 

2. Machine quilt the 28"x18" piece

 

Next I stitched a diagonal quilting pattern across the fabric.  I actually used the diagonal pattern on the bottom fabric for my guide.  This way it saved me the time of having to mark a pattern with erasable marker.  I did use a light layer of basting spray to hold the two pieces of fabric to the batting.  Then I trimmed the edges for a nice clean edge.  The piece ended up being 27 1/2" x 17".

 

3. Straps: cut two pieces of  6"x 29" fabric

 

 

 Fold the short ends of the fabric in  1/2" for a clean edge and iron them.

Then fold the length of the fabric in so that the two raw edges meet in the middle, then iron.

And then fold that piece in half and iron it.

Stitch completely around the entire strap.

 

 

4.  Sew the two straps to the outside of the bag

 

I folded the bag to get an idea of where to sew the straps onto the bag.  I sewed one strap on one side of the top fold at 5".

When I sewed it on I sewed a rectangle with an X in the middle as you can see in the picture below.

Then I sewed the strap going the opposite direction at 2". You will want to fold yours over to make sure you pin it into the right spot and see if they are even before you sew it.

 

4.Larger Bottom Pockets: Cut two pieces of  18"x20" fabric, two pieces of 18"x10" wonder under fusible web and two pieces of 18"x2 1/2" fabric.

Place the fusible web on half of the piece of fabric, iron the fusible web on following the instructions.  Then fold the fabric in half and iron the two halves together so that you end up with a fused double sided piece of fabric that measures 18"x10".

On the raw edge sew a 18" x 2 1/2" strip of binding to one side.

  Iron the binding.

 

 Fold the binding over to the opposite side.

 Then sew the binding to the other side.

 

5. Smaller Top Pockets: Cut one piece of 22"x14" fabric and a piece of 22"x7" wonder under fusible webbing. 
Then cut another piece of 22"x10"fabric with a piece of 22"x5" wonder under fusible webbing.  You will also need 2 pieces of 22"x 2 1/2" fabric.

 

 This is a repeat step 4

Place the fusible web on half of the 22"x14"piece of fabric. Iron on the fusible web following the instructions.  Then fold the fabric in half and iron the two halves together so that you end up with a fused double sided piece of fabric that measures 22"x7".  Now repeat the same process with the 22"x10" piece of fabric.  You will end up with a fused double sided piece of fabric that measures 22"x5".

On the raw edges of each piece sew a 22" x 2 1/2" strip of binding to one side.  Iron the binding, then fold it over and sew it to the other side.

6.  Sewing the top pockets to the bottom pockets.

Lay the 18"x 10" bottom pocket  down first.  Then place all your taller art supplies across the bottom.   Place the 22"x7" top pocket over the top of the art supplies.  Starting in the middle, place a pin between each art supply. Make sure the top layer and the bottom layer line up even at the bottom.   Don't place any art supplies too close to the edge because you will need to leave some room to trim and for your seams.

Remove all the art supplies from the bag.  On each place that you pinned a pin sew a line from the top edge of the smaller pocket to the bottom edge of the smaller pocket. 

Make sure you sew the side edges together.

 Now sew the bottom seam to attach the two pocket together.  This is tricky because of the extra fabric between each section.  You will have to fold over each section the best you can.  Try to keep the fabric as neat as you can.

 

Now repeat the same process with the smaller 22"x5" side, using the shorter art supplies.

 

 

7. Sewing the pockets to the main bag.

Use the diagram to see where to place each set of pockets.

Pin both sets of pockets to the main bag using the above diagram.  Sew the sides and the bottom of the both sets of pockets to the main bag.

 

Trim off the extra overhang of the pockets so that each set of pockets is even with the side of the main bag.

 

8. Sew the Velcro onto the inside and the outside of the bag.

Sew half the Velcro to the top flap of the bag.  Sew it 1/2" away from the edge to leave room for the binding. 

 

Fold the top flap over to see where to pin the bottom piece of Velcro.  You might want to add the art supplies so that you can see if you have allowed enough space.  Mine was 2 3/4" away from the edge of the fabric.  Pin it where it needs to go.  When sewing the bottom piece of Velcro, be very careful of the pockets.  You will have to fold the pockets away from the machine as you are sewing so that you do not sew the pocket shut.

 

9.  Sew Binding completely around the entire outer edges of the bag.

Once you are done with your outer binding then trim all of your thread and fill with your art supplies. 

 I hope you enjoy your bag for a long time.