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Appliqué Bag to Sew | Debbie Shore Project with Video Tutorial and Download
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Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps
With plenty of steps and photographs, and with a video so you can follow along, this project will enable you to up your skills and make a unique shoulder bag.
The appliqué on this sweet messenger bag can depict best friends, sisters or mother and daughter – or just two quirky, happy ladies dancing! I’m calling my two ladies Ada and Pearl. It’s the perfect bag to sew for a friend to show how much you appreciate them: it’s useful, thoughtful, and just a little bit special – something they’ll reach for often and think of you every time. And, of course, the appliqué can be used on other projects: cushion covers, table mats or gift bags!
Appliqué info
I’ve used fabric from my scrap bag for the appliqué and inside pocket: this is a great opportunity to use up smaller pieces of leftover fabric. I added a cute heart appliqué to the back of the bag as an added detail. Again, you can use a small scrap of leftover fabric for this. For my appliqué outline stitches, I chose a very dark green thread: I thought it looked a bit softer than black thread, but you can use any suitable colour.Make it your own!
Personalize the ladies with your colour choices for the dresses, hair and skin. Instead of the heart appliqué, you could add the recipient’s initials, either embroidered or appliquéd on. Use 55in (140cm) of 1in (2.5cm) wide webbing for the strap instead of making it from your outer fabric or skip the strap hardware and make a non-adjustable strap. (See the video for how to make a non-adjustable strap). I added lace and ribbon trims to the ladies’ dresses, but you can use any suitable trims you already have.By the end of this project, you’ll have:
- Made a lovely and practical gift.
- Done some fun appliqué using leftover fabrics.
- Extended your bag-making skills.
You may also like:
- One Bag Three Ways
- Block of the Month Quilt 2026
- Quick Make: Quaint Cottage Pincushion
- Tote Bag with Recessed Zip
Note: use a ¼in (5mm) seam allowance.
Finished size: 11½ x 11½ x 1in (29 x 29 x 2.5cm) without the strap.
Want some more inspo?
Turn to our Facebook page or Pinterest.
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You will need:
Equipment
- Sewing machine with a standard foot
- Scissors
- Heat-erasable fabric pen
- Standard pen or pencil to trace your appliqué shapes onto fusible webbing
- Strong wet fabric glue (Gutermann HT2)
- Hand-sewing needle (plus an embroidery needle if you wish to embroider the eyes)
- Pins and/or fabric clips
- 3in (7.5cm) circle template
- Optional: tweezers
- Optional: basting spray
- Optional: tailor’s ham to help with pressing the gusset seams of the bag
Materials
- 44 x 30in (112 x 76cm) of plain outer fabric: I think natural fabrics look nice
- 44 x 16in (112 x 40.5cm) of lining fabric
- 44 x 16in (112 x 40.5cm) of fusible fleece
- 16 x 6in (40.5 x 15cm) of fabric for the inside pocket (or two 8 x 6in (20.25 x 15cm) pieces if using up scrap fabric as I did)
- 48 x 3in (122 x 7.5cm) strip of fabric for the frill (I joined six 3in (7.5cm) wide pieces of my scrap fabric together for this – see the video)
- Two 4in (10cm) squares of fabric for the appliqué dresses – one for each dress
- One 3in (7.5cm) square of fabric for the apron
- 4in (10cm) square of flesh-coloured fabric
- 3 x 4in (7.5 x 10cm) of fabric for the heart
- 3 x 2in (7.5 x 5cm) of fabric for hair 1 (Ada)
- 2in (5cm) square of fabric for hair 2 (Pearl)
- 19 x 6in (48.5 x 15cm) of fusible adhesive sheet (Bondaweb)
- 8in (20cm) of ½in (1.2cm) wide lace (optional)
- 5in (13cm) of 1/8in (3mm) wide ribbon
- Two 1in (2.5cm) D rings
- Two 1in (2.5cm) swivel snaps
- One 1in (2.5cm) slider
- Magnetic snap
- Pink blusher and cotton bud/fine brush
- Optional: interfacing for the tabs and strap if your fabric isn’t firm
- Optional: black embroidery thread for the eyes
To cut:
- One 11 x 10in (28 x 25.5cm) rectangle of outer fabric for the flap
- One 9 x 8in (23 x 20.5cm) piece of fabric for the flap lining: I used my outer fabric
- Two 12in (30.5cm) squares of outer fabric for the bag front and back
- Two 12in (30.5cm) squares of lining fabric for the front and back lining
- One 34½ x 1½in (87.5 x 4cm) strip of outer fabric for the gusset
- One 34½ x 1½in (87.5 x 4cm) strip of lining fabric for the gusset lining
- Two 8 x 6in (20.25 x 15cm) pocket pieces
- Two 4in (10cm) squares of outer fabric for the tabs
- 55 x 4in (140 x 10cm) of outer fabric for the strap (you will need to join two pieces unless you are using very wide fabric
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Project steps:
Step 1
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Step 2
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