Twelve Weeks of Homemade Gifts: [Week Five] Cosmetic Bag

Here we are. Already at week five.

Every week I get a little more excited--mainly because the gifts are getting a little more...well...exciting.

Today we're back to the sewing machines again. [For those non-sewers, don't worry--I'm going to mix in easy sew/no sew projects from here on out. I'm just too excited about my new skill and can't wait to show this one off.]

So without much ado, let's get started: The Cosmetic Bag.

I really need a good camera. This looks horrible.

So here's what you need:

• 1/4 yard of fabric for the outside of the bag [I chose a laminate-type fabric because I wanted it to be easily wiped off.]
• 1/4 yard of fabric for the inside lining [pick something cotton or soft]
• 12" Zipper
• Scissors, thread, pins, measuring tape and your sewing machine. The usual suspects.

Let's get started:

[Step One] Cut your fabric. Cut 2 pieces of each fabric to 9x12 [if you got a 1/4 yard, you should just have to cut across...because your fabric is 9 inches wide already...I love shortcuts!]

[Step two] Attach your zipper. Apparently this is supposed to be difficult, but I didn't know that until I was done. Why? Because it isn't hard. Just pin your fabric to your zipper [right sides together] and sew. One straight line. Both sides. You can do it.

See? Not a big deal. Don't be scared. 

[Step Three] Time to sew the bottom. Put your fabric with the right sides together and the zipper at the top. Sew a straight line about 1/4" away from the edge.

[Step Four] Time to sew the sides. Flatten your  bag so your zipper lines up with the bottom seam you just sewed.

[Step Five] Unzip the zipper a little bit so you can easily turn the bag inside out when you're done. Sew each of the sides [1/2" from the end.] Trim the zipper if you need to after you're done sewing.

After I unzipped the zipper, I pinned it so it was easier to sew.

Now you have this pouch-thing.

[Step Six] Time to make some awesome corners. Pinch the corners to make little baby triangles:

Now fold these corners to the middle on both sides to make sure they're even:

Mark your edges with a pencil/pen so you know where to start/end your stitch:

Now, sew! Do this to all four corners.

[Step Seven] Now you're done sewing. Trim off the excess fabric points.

[Step Eight] Turn that thing right-side-out.

[Step Nine]

For the lining, just repeat all the steps except for the zipper step. Hand-sew the lining into the zipper/opening of the bag. 

Want another picture?

Oh, yeah.

Another?

Ok...that's enough. 

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note: Happy red-cup day at Starbucks! As I mentioned here I'm a total advocate of the "Christmas doesn't start until after Thanksgiving" political party, but I do love a red cup. And this year they're super cute. I need to rapid fire make a new reusable sleeve to coordinate with my habit....