Transform a bath or beach towel into a personalized beach tote! It is the perfect accessory for summer activities at the pool the beach or the lake.
Download the project instructions here.
Materials:
- 1 yard of terry cloth fabric or large towel
- 1 yard of woven cotton lining fabric
- Bag Pattern Template
- Tape
- Madeira Aerofil or all-purpose sewing thread
- Madeira Rayon or Polyester embroidery thread
- Temporary Adhesive Spray
- Scissors
- Pins and basic sewing notions
- Iron and Pressing Mat
Tools:
- Baby Lock Sewing Machine
- Baby Lock Embroidery Machine
- Baby Lock Tear Away Firm Stabilizer BLT103
- Baby Lock Press-Away Topping - BLP-FILM
Steps:
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Print the bag pattern pieces.
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Tape your pattern together. Using your pattern cut one on the fold from the terry cloth and one on the fold from the lining fabric.
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For the pockets cut three 9” x 9” squares from the lining fabric and one 9” x 9” square from the terry cloth.
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Hoop the 9” terry fabric with tear away firm stabilizer.
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If desired spray stabilizer with temporary spray adhesive. Cut and place a piece of Press-Away topping on the top of the hoop.
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For this project we recommend the 130mm x 180mm (5” x 7”) hoop size.
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Place the hoop on the machine.
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Retrieve the design from the flash drive. You can also use a design built into your machine.
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Combine rotate and edit the design as needed for the bag pocket.
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Align your design with the pocket front.
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Embroider the design.
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Remove the hoop from machine and gently remove from the hooped stabilizer from the back.
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Remove the bulk of the press-away topping. Press away the remaining topping by moving the iron in a circular motion.
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You could also use Hydro-Melt topping for this type of project and use water to remove excess topping.
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To stitch the pockets together match two lining squares pretty sides together and stitch only three sides leaving the bottom edge open.
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Then match the embroidered terry cloth with one lining square pretty sides together and stitch three sides leaving the bottom edge open
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Clip the corners turn and press the pockets. Then press under ½” on the raw edges on each.
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Mark 2-3” down on the center front of the bag on the terry cloth and the lining.
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Place the to of the pocket even with this mark and topstitch close to the edge along three edges leaving the top open.
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Now stitch the center back seam using a ½” seam allowance. Press open.
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Turn wrong sides out and match the center front and center back seams.
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Stitch the lower edge of the back completely on the terry cloth but leave a 6” opening in the center of the lining for turning.
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To box out your corners flatten each corner of the bag matching the folds of the sides to the bottom seam on the bag.
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Measure up 2” from that point and draw a line perpendicular to the measurement line. Stitch along this line and trim excess fabric.
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Take both pieces and place one inside the other pretty sides together. Pin the outer u shapes of the straps completely.
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Start with the center fronts/backs and the top of the straps easing the terry cloth to fit the lining fabric.
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Then stitch a ½” seam allowance all the way around both u-shaped edges.
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Tip: Stitch with the terry cloth against the feed dogs on your sewing machine so that it pulls the bulky fabric through better.
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Clip your curves after stitching.
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Next turn one strap in through the inside of the bag between the outer and lining layer and up through the opening in the lining.
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Press the seam allowances nicely along the strap only.
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Then push it back into the lining and all the way up through and into the inside of the other strap.
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Make sure the inside strap is not twisted and that the right sides are together.
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Align the raw edges of all four layers (two terry cloth layers and two lining layers) and stitch a ½” seam allowance along the short edge.
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Trim away the bulk.
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Now pull the straps out through the opening in the lining as well as the rest of the bag.
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Turn it rights side out.
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Press the rest of the strap and lining to the inside of the bag.
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Finally pull the lining opening out and stitch the opening to enclose the lining.