JAPANESE KNOT BAG

Over at Artfully Ooglebloops, she said that is what these bags are called.

this is the inside



or this could be the inside.....Yes, reversible.


But you can find the pattern over at All People Quilt, and they just call them grab bags.

So....after I made my first one, I thought I would share a few pointers with you to make your first bag go smoothly....so here we go.

Of course, you cut out both inside and out. I like to put pockets in my but this one has no pockets.




Then I mark the side handles only...this is the short side and I have marked it at 4 1/2 inches.


The next is the long side and it is marked at 7 inches. I do this to both lining pieces.



Next, I begin to sew but I leave enough space at the top before I sew to allow for sewing the straps together after it is pulled through. You may want to leave more than the allowance for the seam, this will make it easier when you try to sew the two straps together.


I sew all the way to the mark on the side. I do this to all four sides (only the outside of the strap, never on the inside). So now...you will see how the lining is between the outside fabric and how it is lined up with each other.


..well...you are going to sew all the way around the outside of the bag starting at the marked place on the handles...you will see that you have sewn up to that point, now you will sew from that point around the outside of the bag....



Once that side is done, flip it over and do the lining the saw way.


Now to sew around the inside handles of the bag to the opposite side handles.



Now you are wondering how you are going to pull the bag to the right side....well, in the instructions it says to leave a hole in the bottom of the lining. My friend, Krista came up with pulling the bag through the handle...so you will leave one end (only one) open a litttle more to give you some leeway to pull it through.



Now that you have done that, continue to sew all the way around to the other side.



Turn it over and do the other side.



Now comes the fun part, pulling the bag through.... Now at this point, I realize that I have made a serious mistake....I forgot to clip the curves....but I am thinking...I already have the bag pulled through.... THIS IS MISTAKE #1

Now you are going to sew the handles together....you sew lining to lining and right side of the fabric to the right side. It is as simple as that, and if you left youself enough space from the top of the handle until you made your frist stitch, you should be okay. you do this to both handles.



This is what it should look like....



Now you just top stitch around the outside of the bag and inside of the handles and you are done....EASY!!!


MISTAKE #2NOT GOING BACK AND PULLING THE BAG BACK THROUGH TO THE INSIDE AND CLIP THE CURVES.... Because you get this....oh sure, the bag looks pretty good but it is pulling...if I had clipped the curves it would lay flat and looks ooooo sooooo nice