Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Home Decor Meets Duffle!

How do you use those lovely home decor prints that are everywhere?  Every fabric store I enter has eons of choices...so many pretty colors, textures, and the heft is just awesome, especially if you want to make something that will withstand some wear and possible tear...enter the overnight bag!


Bag 'Front' pocket

This is a cute little pattern from Simplicity 2274, to be precise. I've made duffle bags for the men in my family a few years ago. The girls were a little chuffed to say the least. When I spied this pretty home decor print on Fabric Mart's site, I knew it had to be and now one lucky lady would get her own bag!


Plenty of room, even if you are a messy packer, like me!

Home decor fabric is lovely to work with. I used two yards of it for the bag and enough left over to make a little matching clutch to use for whatever the lucky daughter or daughter-in-law likes. The colors are vibrant and the design is woven into the fabric. This is a nice, quality piece and not at all like some of the home decor fabric your great-grandmother may have used. These are modern prints with fun colors!


Little matching makeup bag
I followed the directions for the bag pretty much as written but since it is a bag I am creating, I chose to eliminate a few of the outside pockets and to line the insides with a pretty orange fabric I also purchased from Fabric Mart. It sort of gives a satiny feel to the inside of a bag, which in my mind makes it girly!


Bag Side

When working with home decor fabric, I like to serge all the edges prior to assembly. I layered each piece with the the batting, lining, and of course my pretty geometric pieces and serged the edges. I just find this makes life easier when making a bag such as this. If you don't own a serger, a simple zig-zag stitch will do the trick.  


Bag bottom, see where the straps attach? 

The contrast fabric on the handles was from my stash and is a simple cotton print that highlights the green.



There is batting between the outer fabric and lining and as well as all these fabrics sewed, I had zero issues. I did use my walking foot which I love to stitch the layers together. Don't have one? No worries, you can still get a great result when sewing home decor fabric, you'll just want to pin carefully and abundantly to match your edges and keep them straight and even.


And the decorative stitch
I wanted to highlight the contrast on the bags and decided to use a decorative stitch to attach the straps to the bag. How fun!


Top zip, see, I even used a decorative stitch there! 

I enjoyed making this bag! Using home decor fabric might be something you hadn't thought of but try using it in unconventional ways. Jackets, pants, skirts, purses, totes, overnight bags, and even home decor items are all great uses for this fabric!

You can find Fabric Mart's selection of Home Decor fabric HERE


Thanks for reading!

Sue from Ilove2sew!

Comments

  1. Home dec fabric does make the best bags, because this type of fab is more sturdy than the regular garment fabric. I love the methods you used, your color selection, and the decorative stitching. I'm impressed, and inspired.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Cozy two piece lounge set with cotton jersey from Fabric Mart.

There is something incredibly nostalgic about old school gym wear.  I love the relaxed fits and timeless appeal.   It takes me back to my high school gymnasium days.   When I stumbled upon this beautiful heather grey cotton jersey knit from Fabric Mart Fabrics, I knew exactly what I wanted to create:  a two piece lounge set that would be easy to wear and perfect for the cooler Florida weather we have been having. The Fabric The heather grey cotton lycra jersey knit was perfect.   It’s soft, lightweight, and has just the right amount of stretch.  The subtle marled texture of the fabric added depth and character, making it an ideal choice for recreating a vintage gym look.  The fabric is comfortable and warm enough for our recent cooler temps.   It washed and dried beautifully.  It’s breathable and easy to work with, a dream for any sewing project.  The Pattern I chose McCall’s 4261 Spa Essentials from 2003.  ...

Made By A Fabricista: Playing with Classic Silhouettes and Timeless Color Palettes

When it comes to sewing, few things excite me more than reimagining classic designs and breathing new life into timeless patterns. As someone who has been sewing for over 25 years, I thrive on exploring unique details and construction techniques that make each piece feel special. Recently, I found inspiration in a previous look I’d created and decided to take it a step further, crafting a full outfit that plays with volume, texture, and classic styling. See below my dress from 2011 that I drew inspiration from. The Fabric For this project, I chose a Glen Plaid Suiting fabric from Fabric Mart, a timeless yet versatile pattern that instantly elevates any garment. The fabric’s classic black-and-white palette gave me the perfect base to experiment with silhouettes and pairings while keeping the overall look chic and cohesive. I love how this fabric’s pattern gives off an air of sophistication yet lends itself beautifully to bold, modern designs. The Dress For the dress, I used the VikiSew...

Made By A Fabricista: Ghostly School Uniform

When Fabric Mart asked me what fabric I wanted for my first project I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to make, Nene Yashiro from Toilet Bound Hanako kun (a weird but cute anime) but as cute as the design was, I knew I'd need to adjust the colors to a slightly warmer tones to better suit my complexion and undertones. For the main dress I was so happy to find an off white cotton/Lycra stretch twill that was opaque enough to not need a lining and stretched enough that I could continue avoiding my nemesis; zippers. I wanted to try out having a seamless center front panel, so I modified one of my existing go-to bodice patterns, and after figuring out what length I wanted for the skirt, was able to have the center front panel incorporated into the center front panel of the skirt. I then had the rest of the bodice as their normal waist length so that I could add an additional panel to the skirt to be able to have enough width to have volume and gather it down evenly around my waist. The hem h...