Our Top 5 Easy Bags To Make!

Did you know we stock a whole range of items for bag making? From bag handles and straps to essential bag hardware like metal feet and buckles - we have plenty of bag making tools and treasures to get started with your own project. 

We have an abundance of lovely cotton poplins from playful prints to plains to polka dots and stripes, which you can mix and match to make your bag truly unique. We also have a range of classic and colourful denim, as well as beautiful, stylish chambray fabrics - a great choice for modern bag making. In our haberdashery department, we stock a full range of webbing, including a very cool camouflage print, as well as a wide selection of bag hardware essentials, such as straps, handles and D rings. 

You might be a seasoned ‘pro’ at bag making or perhaps have yet to try sewing your own bags. Making your own tote, crossbody or messenger might seem a little fiddly and time consuming. However, a little online research together with the right materials is all you need to get started! Making your own bag means you can design and create something truly bespoke, whether it's to accessorize a special outfit or the perfect handy bag for everyday tasks. To help you get started, we have pulled together our top 5 easy bag making projects. We hope these ideas will inspire you on your own creative adventure - from crossbody, to tote to drawstring backpack, a whole world of bag making awaits you!

How To Get Started With Making Your Bag

Read our summary of the Top 5 Easy Bag Making projects below and decide on the shape and style that you’re looking for. If you are new to bag making, a drawstring backpack or circular handle bag are both straightforward projects to ease you into sewing bags. These are also ideal projects to work on together, if you’re looking for a bag project for children. Once you have decided on the style of bag you want to make, research online bag making tutorials and note down everything you need to get started. Next comes the fun part - designing your bag! Consider what you might carry and when you might use your bag - does it need to be a sturdy denim fabric or are you looking for a quirky print for a weekend casual bag? Either way, enjoy browsing all the prints and patterns in our cotton poplin section and the pretty tones of our denim and chambray section, as you get inspired to start your bag!

Our Top 5 Easy DIY Bag Projects:

1: The Tote Bag

The classic tote bag is an everyday essential and a popular unisex bag. This rectangular shoulder bag provides ample storage for work items, being spacious enough to accommodate a laptop. The tote can be designed to be a smart work bag or a casual, fun shopper with mix and match fabrics. How about a denim tote with a smart webbing strap?

A number of tote tutorials use two contrasting fabrics for the outside of the bag, one print covering the base and bottom third of the bag, along with another print for the lining. We love mixing prints and patterns - such as polka dots or stripes contrasting with florals. A tote can be put together quite simply using rectangles of your chosen fabric, matching thread and a suitable mid-weight interfacing for the lining and bag straps. 

2: The Messenger Bag

 A messenger bag is a great, sturdy, practical bag for everyone. It can hold plenty of books for students, a laptop or tablet for workers and even a baby changing kit for parents. Its boxed shape means that belongings can be neatly organised and stacked in the bag, making it useful for all your pastimes too, such as carrying picnic lunches on a hike or your sports kit for the gym. Use contrasting fabrics for the outer material and lining and add zipped interior pockets to store your valuables and phone. Although the messenger bag uses a number of panels of fabric, this bag can be made with just a couple of metres of fabric, along with suitable woven interfacing. Make the strap using the same contrasting fabrics or use a strip of webbing, and attach to the bag with our metal D rings. Our slide buckles enable the length of the strap to be adjusted.

3: The Crossbody Bag

A slim, stylish crossbody bag is perfect for holding your small, everyday essentials, as well as being light-weight and comfortable to carry. It is also an ideal travelling companion - keeping all your important documents close to hand. The design of a crossbody bag can be tailored to suit your needs - adding front and back pockets to fit a phone, pens, earbuds; as well as adding a zipped interior pocket to secure valuable items such as keys. Use our swivel clips to attach the strap and, if you want to use the bag as a clutch, simply remove the detachable strap. Made with small panels of fabric, the crossbody can even take on an eclectic design using your favourite scraps of fabric. Fasten the crossbody using magnetic invisible buttons, a tuck lock buckle or a bag frame.

4: The Circular Handle Bag

This is a lovely, slouchy summer bag, ideal for casual weekend catch-ups, market trips or a day at the beach. A circular handle bag is perfect for adults and children alike - and by mixing some quirky fabrics, you can make a truly stylish finished product. Using two fabrics, one for the main outer and one for the lining, this bag is cut like a rectangle with a circular base. The casing at the top gathers around the handle to create pretty folds so the finished bag has a relaxed slouchy feel. How about using our beautiful retro stripes fabric together with our bamboo handles to create a vintage-feel bag? Close the bag with our magnetic buttons and you have a very pretty, summer bag ready to go!

5: The Drawstring Backpack

A drawstring backpack is a very straightforward project and a good introduction to bag making for anyone new to these types of projects. The backpack can be made from 2 metres of contrasting fabrics - one for the outer fabric and one for lining, together with strips of fabric for the casing pieces. Finish the bag with a matching or contrasting coloured drawstring - we have everything from bold primary colours to bright neons! The backpack takes very little time to assemble and is the perfect, versatile item for carrying shopping, sports kit or even snacks for a walk. This is also a lovely project to make for or even create with children. They can pick their favourite fabrics and put together a bag ready to hold all their school or club essentials.

We hope our Top 5 Easy Bag Making projects will help inspire you to get started with making your own bags. We always love to see our customer’s finished projects so please share them with us on our social media channels.