Sew A Makeup Bag That Makes A Difference
My youngest
son asked if I’d
donate a
basket of
sewing goodies
to be used as
part of the
silent auction
at the Relay
for Life event
at his college,
University of
Minnesota.
Sewing and
quilting books
were easy to
gather, then I
got the idea to
create a
makeup bag with an embroidery that supports cancer awareness as part of the giveaway. It was easy to find the
embroidery, Embroider a Cure, which features 20 support ribbon embroidery designs, a product from Designs in
Machine Embroidery. All net proceeds from the Embroider a Cure Collection will go to the Be The
Difference organization, supporting ovarian cancer research.
Makeup Bag that Makes a Difference
Perfect for any overnight stay, this bag is fast to create, but also makes a statement!
Fabric and supplies:
Two Fat Quarters, each 18″ x 22″ (We chose a solid lime quilting cotton.)
Two Coordinating Fabric Strips, each 5-1/4″ x 14″ (We chose a striped quilting cotton.)
One Cotton Batting, 18″ x 22″
One Cotton Batting, 5-1/4″ x 14″
Two 3″ lengths 1/2″–3/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon
One 14″ zipper
To construct a makeup bag:
Hoop sticky-backed stabilizer in a 8″ x 12″ hoop. Remove the paper covering within the hooped area.
Select a meaningful embroidery design from the Embroider a Cure Collection.
Transfer the design to your embroidery machine.
Layer batting between the fat quarters.
Spray a very light coating of fusible spray to hold the layers together.
Apply the layers to the embroidery hoop, centering one short end in the hoop.
Optional: Use a placement sticker to position the embroidery on the fabric.
Center the design. (If using a placement sticker, remove the sticker before beginning the embroidery process.)
If your machine has this capability, add a basting stitch outline to hold the layers securely in the hoop. This is a
built-in option on my Baby Lock Ellisimo.
Embroider! I chose a design that features Ovarian cancer awareness. It’s a two-color embroidery that is
beautifully digitized.
Gently remove the embroidery from the hoop.
Pin the layers together in preparation for quilting the fabrics.
Add a quilting guide bar to the sewing machine. We set the distance between the needle and the bar at 1-1/2″.
Determine the quilting pattern—gridded on the diagonal or vertical/horizontal. We chose diagonal.
Draw one stitching line on the fabric with a washable marking pen.
Stitch along the marked line with a straight stitch, removing the pins as you come to them.
For all subsequent lines, guide the quilting bar along the previously sewn line. Repeat.
After completing the stitching in one direction, mark another diagonal line and stitch in the opposite direction.
Trim width to 12″, keeping the embroidery design centered. Length will not be trimmed and will remain about 22″
Clean finish all the raw edges by zigzagging or serging.
To create the Upper Front Section, layer batting strip between the 5-1/4″ x 14″ coordinating fabric pieces. We
stitched several rows of channel stitching.
Trim the Upper Front Section to 3-1/4″ x 12″. Clean-finish all raw edges by zigzagging or serging.
Fold under 5/8″ on one long edge of the Upper Front Section and press.
Fold under 5/8″ on one short edge of the Front/Back Section and press.
Position the folded edge of the Front/Back Section along the left edge of the zipper teeth, with the zipper facing up
and the tab extending above the edge. Stitch the fold to the zipper.
Position the folded edge of the Upper Front Section along the opposite edge of the zipper teeth. Align the edges
of the two sections; stitch.
Open the zipper and bartack across the top zipper teeth, stitching close to the fabric edge. Repeat at zipper
bottom, stitching close to the fabric edge.
Fold 3″ ribbon sections in half, with the short ends together.
With the loop toward the center of the bag, align the ribbon ends with the raw edges at the zipper; stitch.
Trim off the excess zipper tape.
Add a label to the back, if you like!
Fold the bag in half, right sides together, meeting sides and top edges.
Open the zipper half way, providing an opening to turn the bag right side out.
Stitch or serge the top with a 1/4″ seam.
Wrap the top seam toward the bottom, folding the seam at the stitching line. Stitch the side seams from the
wrapped corner to the lower fold with a 1/4″ seam.
Form the bag bottom:
Open out the lower corners and center the lower seam.
Mark 1-1/4″ from the point of the corner.
Stitch or serge along the marked seamline.
Trim the corner seams and turn the bag right side out.
Take time to stitch a makeup bag for a friend, family member, or for yourself. Take time to read the words!
Also, several of you have asked for
downloadable, printable instructions of
this project. For your convenience, the
Makeup Bag is now available
to purchase as a downloadable file.
Bye for now,
Nancy Zieman—author, pattern designer, businesswomen, producer, and national sewing authority—is the host of
the popular show Sewing With Nancy®, which appears exclusively on public television stations across the United
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