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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Temple (garment) Bag Tutorial

Hi All! Here's another fabulous tutoral for you ... 


For all you lovely LDS ladies it's a Temple Bag ... for all the non-LDS ladies it's a Garment Bag :) And it's pretty fabulous if I do say so myself.  I got the idea from Pinterest, of course, it was in the diy section but of course didn't have a diy so I "pinned it" seven weeks ago and said I would figure out how to make it and how to post the instructions ... 
well it took me a while but here you go ...

Materials needed:
2 yds of fabric (this will be your main fabric)
1 1/2 yds of contrast fabric (for pockets and ruffles)
30" Zipper
5 Buttons
Matching Thread

Step One: Wash, Dry, and Iron fabric (I always prewash my fabric! Sometimes the fabric gets distorted in the wash and you want that to happen BEFORE you sew it all together rather than messing up your beautiful finished product)

Next you are going to cut out all your pieces.  
Fold your MAIN fabric in half lengthwise (so it's still 2 yds. long, now it's only 21" wide)
For the top and bottom pieces (front and back) cut 4 pieces  16" x 21"
(so only cut 2 pieces 16" x 21" while the fabric is folded then cut on the fold of the fabric so that you have 4 pieces total)
For the middle piece (front and back) cut 2 pieces 32" x 21"
(again only cut 1 piece 32" x 21" while the fabric is folded then cut on the fold of the fabric so that you have 2 pieces total)
After you've cut those 6 pieces you should be left with a piece of fabric that is approximately 8" x 21" (folded in half - unfolded it will be 42" wide).  Unfold the fabric.  For the handles cut 2 pieces 3" x 30" 
For the tab (to button the bag closed) cut  2 pieces 3" x 7"

Now for the contrast fabric ...
For the ruffles cut 5 pieces 4" x 50"
For the pockets cut 2 pieces 15" x 21"

Phew! That is always my least favorite part of sewing (cutting out all the pieces).  Now we're ready for the fun stuff ... We will start with the pockets.  Fold over the 21" edge 1/2" and press.  Then fold it over again (so the unfinished edge is inside the second fold) 3/4" and press.


Top stitch in place (do the same thing for the other pocket piece)


Now for the button holes (I have no clue how to make them with your sewing machine) on my machine it's stitch #26 (I also changed my presser foot to my button hole foot)


My buttons are 7/8" buttons so my button holes are 1" long.  I put my button hole about 1/2" from the top of the pocket (you can place yours where ever your little heart desires).  For the front pocket I placed one button in the center, and then the other two half way between that button and each end.
For the inside pocket I placed one button 4" from the left side and another button 7" from the right side 
(the smaller pocket on the left for you slippers/shoes, and the larger on the right for your packet)


For the inside pocket I also straight stitch down the pocket 7 1/2" from the left side (can you see the white line I marked with chalk?) This just separates the two pockets ... if you only want one pocket you don't have to do this OR if you want the pockets to be the same size just stitch down the center of the pocket and place the buttons in the center (the options are endless!)



Now stitch the contrast pocket piece to the main fabric.  For the inside pocket you will use a bottom main fabric piece (one of the 16" x 21" pieces)


Attach the two buttons and voila! You have yourself two inside pockets :) YAY!!


So sticking with the inside (leave the second pocket for now ... we'll get back to it later) take one of the 32" x 21" pieces and cut it in half lengthwise (so it's 32" x 10 1/2").  Place the two pieces right sides together and baste them together (we are inserting the zipper).


Press open the seam you just created


Lay the zipper down aligning the zipper teeth (where the zipper opens/unzips) with the basted seam (which we will undo once the zipper is sewn in place).  Pin the zipper in place.


Using your zipper foot stitch the zipper in place


Then I like to go back and stitch along the edge of the outside
Down ...


Across the end of the zipper ...


And back up the other side.


This, I think, helps hide the zipper and makes it look prettier.


Next attach the bottom piece (with the pocket) to the middle zipper piece you just created (I did french seams (so wrong sides together then right sides together) but you can just do a regular, right sides together, seam ...


Next attach the top piece using another 16" x 21" piece of main fabric.  And there you have it! Your inside is completely done!
NOW ... moving on to the outside ...
Create your tab (closure) place the 2 - 3" x 7" pieces right sides together and stitch around three of the four edges (leave one of the 3" edges open so we can flip it right side out)


Flip and Press!


Stitch a button hole in the center 1/2" or so from the finished edge (the edge that you left open will be sewn to the bottom outside piece)


Now the handles.  Fold each 3" x 30" strip in half lengthwise (right sides together).  Then stitch along one short edge and one long edge (leave one edge open for flipping).  The handles are a bit longer and thus harder to flip so I use this handy dandy flipper that I got at Joann's in the notions isle (you can just use a pen or anything thin and long that will help you flip the fabric right side out)


I just put the finished edge of my fabric on the tip of the flipper tool and scrunch the fabric down down down until I get to the open end.  Then just grab the right side the the fabric poking the corners out with the flipper tool and PULL until you've flipped it right side out


Press, making sure the seams are aligned with the edge of the handles
(Repeat for handle dos (2 for those who don't speak espanol)


AND NOW! My favorite part of this WHOLE bag! RUFFLES!!!!!
We are going to attach them to the outside pocket (you've already made the pocket piece with three button holes at the top ... or however many you want).  Oh! And if you're not a girly girl or you just want to be boring (jk) you don't HAVE to put on ruffles (just skip the next few steps)


So to finish the edges I just cut them with my pinking shears (see the zigzag edges) you can do that or you can finish them by folding over the edges and sewing them down (whatever you want)
So finish the edges (however you want) of all 5 - 4" x 50" pieces of contrast fabric
Then you are going to gather the fabric of each 4" x 50" strip of fabric
To do this simply stitch with the LONGEST stitch length your sewing machine will allow (mine is 6.0) and as you stitch keep your finger against the back of the sewing machine causing the fabric to gather


If it's not gathered enough when you come to the end of the fabric leave a LONG tale of thread, while holding the bottom thread scrunch the fabric down the thread until it's gathered enough to fit on the front of the pocket 


Attach the ruffles to the pocket


Attach the pocket to the 32" x 21" main fabric piece aligning the bottom of the pocket with the middle of the 32" piece (so the bottom of the pocket will be 16" from the top/bottom of the 32" x 21" piece of main fabric)
Stitch along the bottom (the bottom of the pocket NOT THE RUFFLE ... the bottom ruffle should hide the bottom of the pocket) once you've stitched the bottom in place stitch the sides together (just to hold them in place)


Now with the two last 16" x 21" pieces of main fabric you are going to attach the handles (and on one the tab)  Simply place the tab in the center and stitch across the top to hold in place.  Then place the handles 3 1/2" away from the edge of  the fabric and stitch in place.  Do the same thing on the other 16" x 21" piece (but only with the handle this time)


Stitch the piece with the handle and tab to the bottom of the 32" piece 


And the other piece (with just the handle) to the top of the 32" piece


Now you have both inside and outside completely done ... Now you just have to sew them together (again I did french seams but you can just put right sides together and stitch if you want a regular seam)
*Note I left a little opening in the top of the bag so that I could put a hanger inside the bag (if you would like a hole for a hanger simply start stitching the two pieces (inside and outside) together 1/4" or away from the center of the top.  Stitch all the way around but stop on the top when you get 1/4" or so away from the center on the opposite side - this will leave a 1/2" opening ... plenty of room for a hanger)
Once you've stitched all the way around open the zipper and flip the bag so the right side is out
And there you have it!
The Front/Outside ...


And the Back/Inside ...


And when you fold it up ...
TADA! LOVE IT!!! <3


The End!

Hope you all loved it
As always if you have any questions let me know

Lots of Love <3

7 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks so darn cute! I've been wanting to get a new temple bag for a while now and I think I am just going to have to steal your idea. I love it!

M said...

It's so cute! Great job!

Bubbles said...

I had a temple bag I had printed to make, but then I lost that copy and I couldn't find it anywhere. YEAH!!! I love, love, love this bag. I started on it right away. I do have a couple of questions though.

What size of seams are you sewing? Is it 1/4", 1/2" 5/8" or something totally different.
Now my other question is:

When I cut the fabric for the ruffles, am I cutting the long 50" piece and then cutting my 4" pieces against the grain?

As you can probably tell, I'm new to sewing. Any help you could give me would be muchly appreciated.

Such Talent! Good Job!

*Christina* said...

@Bubbles: YAY! Glad this is helpful :)
I french seam pretty much everything but ultimately it comes out to be a 5/8" seam.
As for the grainline, I have no clue haha, I am by no means a professional seamstress, so I just kinda go with the flow and probably make a million mistakes along the way. The fabric I used was only 45" wide so I cut 50" down the length and 4" from the width (the width was the stretchy-er part the length was stiff - Idk which is grain =/ sorry. Hope that helps :) have fun!!!

BeccersAnn said...

I loved this bag so much I just had to make on for my sister as a bridal shower gift. It turned out fabulously! So beautiful and easy to make thanks to the tutorial.

One thing...When cutting out the two 32" pieces, you need to make one 21" wide and the other one 22" wide. Use the 22" wide one to cut in half lengthwise for the zipper. Then baste the halves together with a 1/2" seam to insert the zipper. That way, when you attach all the other pieces, they will line up. Luckily I caught it before I cut anything out.

Also, as a design element and to save fabric (money) I just cut my ruffles across the width of the fabric so they were only approx. 44" long. They were still plenty fluffy when attached to the pocket.

Again! This bag is so beautiful. Thank you so much for the tutorial. I love the one I made for my sister so much I am now going to have to do one for myself.

Jewelz said...

Thanks for the great tutorial - I made a bag today & I love how it turned out. The only thing I'd change is I'd have the zipper start halfway up the top panel instead of at the top of the middle piece. 16 inches is just a big space to have to reach up in to get the hanger in/out.

Anonymous said...

Any chance you could make a video of it? I'm a visual/audio learner. I need to watch as you make one.

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