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: Vacation Vibes

We will be traveling to the Caribbean for Spring Break this year, so I started thinking about what I wanted to take with me that would be easy to wear, but also light and breezy.  Personally, I love wearing linen because it looks so luxe while still being really comfortable. Since coordinated sets are still on trend this year, I thought it would be fun to create some pieces that I could mix and match for a relaxed vacation mini-wardrobe.  (I just need to remember to pack my travel iron!)   I went through all of my patterns and came up with five different patterns that I knew would would coordinate well with each other, and that would work well with linen.  I wasn’t surprised when all the patterns I chose came from Pattern Emporium.  Their whole aesthetic is clothing that is on trend, easy to wear and comfortable.  For my first set, I used the Lightweight Yarn-Dyed Chambray Linen in Soft Oat.  This fabric is so incredibly soft and airy. ...

Made By A Fabricista: I Love A Bomber Jacket

Hello friends,  I’m Byrd, and today I’m excited to share my latest Fabricista project with you.  There’s something timeless about a bomber jacket that makes it a staple in my wardrobe. It’s effortlessly cool, versatile, and perfect for layering through the seasons. But what makes this particular bomber jacket even more special is its thoughtfully designed pattern. Not only is it a standard pattern, but it’s also adaptive—meaning the length and closures can be customized to suit your needs, whether you’re standing, sitting, or using a wheelchair. This level of inclusivity in design is something I truly appreciate, and that’s why I’m especially excited about this make! The Fabric: Cotton Poly Poplin For the bomber jacket, I chose a Salamander White cotton-poly poplin , and it couldn’t be a more perfect match. Poplin is a fantastic choice for outerwear because it’s lightweight yet durable, with just the right amount of structure to hold the classic bomber shape. The cotton-poly b...

Made By A Fabricista: Pleated High Waisted Pants And How To Style Them

Hi sewing friends! Today I’m excited to share some awesome trousers that I discovered last year when I was a tester on this pattern. These pants are seriously amazing and magical because they are pretty beginner friendly but you get a real ready to wear and higher end look due to a few clever features. I also think they are flattering on a variety of body shapes and sizes so all in all, this pattern is a winner for me. I’m also going to share three top patterns of different styles that work well with this trouser style. Have I peaked your interest? Let’s go! These magical trousers are the Padget Pants from Petite Stitchery & Co (PSCo). This pattern is size inclusive and goes up to a 5X or 62 inch hip. It also includes a great projector file with mirrored full pattern pieces (yay for good projector files!). Here are a few action shots of these awesome pants: The instructions specify a knit fabric, but many of the testers on the team made them in stretch or even non-stretch w...