How to Sew a Fun Kids Wash Bag
Follow along with me a make a fun kids wash bag. This a great project to do with younger sewers as the choice of fabrics, zips and sew-on patches can really allow you to make the bag your own.
When it came to Christmas presents this year, I started early with the hope of making a few unique gifts for friends and family. My two girls, currently 6 and 8 are really loving to experiment with bits of makeup and nail polishes just now and are just at that age where they are starting to collect and enjoy little trinkets, beads, jewellery and hair ties. So, I thought, a couple of bags to house all of their newly discovered ‘treasure’ would be an ideal gift from Mum and Dad.
Obviously, I absolutely know that I could have popped out to the shops to buy a fun make up bag for a few pounds that would have done the job just fine. But, and it's a big but, I think that there is something so special and heartwarming about receiving a gift that someone has made by hand especially for you.
For this project I used a plain calico fabric which is strong and durable but which also acts as a good neutral backdrop for the coloured zip, lining and sew-on patch that I wanted to use on the bags. It is also relatively cheap so it really brings the cost of making the bags down and allowed me to spend a little more on quirky zips and sew on patches.
I really love the big ring pull on the multicoloured zips. They are so much fun and perfect for smaller hands to use as opposed to traditional zippers that can be fiddly and stiff.
HOW TO MAKE FUN KIDS WASH BAG
For this project I used some plain calico and some cotton fat quarters that I picked up at our local supermarket. Your accent fabrics can really be anything you like. Try to think outside of the box. You can even use some old dress fabric or an old t-shirt if the fabric is still in good condition.
Supplies
- 1 Fat Quarter Calico Fabric
- 1 Fat Quarter Printed cotton Fabric (black and white)
- 1 Fat Quarter Lining Fabric (yellow)
- 23cm Zip of your choice
- Sew on patches
- Sewing thread (I used Moon polyester thread in yellow for this project. I would usually sew with a thread the colour of the main fabric - beige here to match the calico - but I wanted a contrast to give this project a little fun)!
- Rotary Cutter
- Cutting mat
- A steel ruler or a tape measure
- Pins
- Sewing Machine
- Steam Iron
1. Preparing your zip
First, we are going to finish the ends of our zip to make our bag look neat.
Cut 2 6cm x 7cm strips of your cotton accent fabric. Place each strip length-wise across either end of the zip with outer edges lined up and right sides facing. Pin in place.
Very carefully sew your fabric and the zip together. You want to ensure that your stitches come to the inside of the zip stopper as you wont want to see this on your bag. Go carefully over the zipper teeth as you don't want to break your needle!
You should now have a piece of cotton fabric at either end of your zip. Once you have sewn both ends of the zip turn your cotton fabric back and press with an iron to make a neat seam. Be mindful of the settings on your iron here as it would be easy to melt the teeth on a plastic zip.
2. Preparing your wash bag outer.
Cut: 25cm x 25cm square of calico fabric x2
3cm x 25cm strip of cotton fabric x2
10cm x 25cm piece of cotton fabric x2
Take your square of calico and place it on your work surface. Place your 3cm strip of cotton on top of your calico, face down, with top edge of your cotton accent fabric 2cm from the top of your calico.
Pin in place and sew along the top edge only of the cotton accent fabric joining the two fabrics using a 1cm seam allowance. Turn the cotton accent fabric back and press with an iron. The top edges of the cotton accent fabric and calico should now be in line.
Place your 10cm strip of cotton fabric face down on top of your calico with the bottom edge of your accent fabric 9cm from the bottom of the calico.
Pin in place and sew along the bottom edge of the accent fabric using a 1cm seam allowance.
Turn the accent fabric back and press along the seam with an iron. The bottom edge of both fabrics should now line up.
You should now have cotton accent fabric along the top and bottom of your fabric with a broad calico stripe across the middle.
Repeat for the other side of the wash bag.
3. Assembling your Wash Bag
Cut: 25cm x 25cm square of cotton lining fabric x2
You are now going to assemble your Wash Bag.
Take one 25cm square on calico, your zip and one 25cm square of lining fabric.
Lay your calico on your work surface right side facing up.
Line up the top edge of your zip with the top edge of your calico with the right side of the zip facing down. The tabs at the end of the sipper will stand slightly proud of the bag.
Lay your lining fabric on top on the calico and zip with the right side facing down and the top edges lined up. Pin the 3 layers of fabric in place along the top edge.
Sew along the top edge of your fabric connecting the 3 pieces of fabric in place. Open out your fabric to reveal the right sides of your fabric and press with a iron along your seam. You can top stitch along the fabric closest to the zip for extra strength if you wish to (see image below).
Repeat the process with the other side of your bag.
Your bag should now have a zip and be open on three sides.
N.B. If you want to add sew on patches now is the time. For this project I used an iron-on patch which I stuck to the front of the bag with the steam setting on my iron. I then carefully machine stitched the patch in place making sure I avoided stitching the lining fabric when I did so.
The next step is to sew up the sides of your Wash Bag. To make the bottom of your bag flat, lay your bag out on your work surface and cut out a 4cm square of fabric from each corner of the bag (including your lining fabric).
Line up the bottom edges of your calico to one side of the zipper so that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other. Pin the sides of the fabric together leaving the bottom of your bag open.
Take the bottom edges of your lining fabric together on the other side of the zipper so that the right sides are facing each other. Pin the sides of the fabric together leaving the bottom of your bag open.
You should have the calico fabric to one side of your zip and the lining fabric to the other. You should only be able to see the wrong side of your fabric. Now sew along each side of the bag from the top of the calico, through the zip in the middle and onto the lining fabric at the end. Repeat for both sides working the same way with each seam (i.e. if you sew down the calico first on one side, do the same on the other side). Press your seams and trim any loose threads.
You are now going to assemble the bottom of your bag.
Important: Before you start this process make sure that your zip is half open. If you leave it closed it will be harder to get opened up later on!
Pin along and sew the bottom seam of your calico fabric. Press your seams.
Next, line up the bottom seam and side seam of your calico by pulling the bottom and sides of your bag together. The squares that you cut out of your fabric should come together and form a horizontal seam. Pin in place and sew together.
Repeat on the other side. Press your seams and press.
You are now going to repeat the process on your lining fabric.
Sew along the bottom seam of your lining fabric leaving a 10cm opening in the middle of your seam. Make your corners by joining the bottom and side seams of your fabric like you did with your calico.
Turn your bag right side out by pulling the fabric through the zip opening. To finish off your bag, pull the lining fabric out of the bag and pin together the opening that you left. Pin together and top stitch carefully.
Pop your lining fabric inside your bag, press along your seams and enjoy your Fun Kids Wash Bag!
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