Pink and Green Origami Bag

 

One of the lovely ladies at Novocastrian Quilters Guild, Margaret, taught a class on how to make this great bag. I wasn't able to do it during the class but she was kind enough to let me have a handout. So last weekend I made it up. Very easy and looks fab!!

Here is Miss Hattie assisting me making the bag. She is laying on the two squares of fabric used to make the bag. The two squares are sewn with a 1/4 " seam all around the outside seam, right sides together. Leave a small gap to turn the pieces out. I then pressed the finished seams.

 

You then fold the square as seen below. The green floral is the outside fabric, pink dots the "lining". The two tips should touch the outside edge.

 

You then sew from the outside edge to the top point, only going through the top two layers. Same with the other side. Due to the shapes, it's best to do it in two stages, as the angles are funny and on small bags you won't be able to do it in one go. This should give you a sleeve - that is, you can put your hand through the tube.

Now, sew from the point as indicated below, through all layers to the bottom edge. I'd mark this to make sure you get a straight seam.

Then fold the ends in until they meet the gap as below. You then sew two lines at each end to form a channel for the ribbon.

 

Fold in half along middle sewing line so that flaps and ribbon channel are on the inside. Then sew up the two sides to form a bag. You can stop at this stage for a flat bag.

I added a flat bottom to my bag to allow it to sit better and add a bit of padding to the bottom of the bag. I forgot to take a photo of this step!! Here is a link to show you how to do the corners. Instructions about half way down the page. The tutorial there is a bit different to this one.

You can leave the triangle flaps on the bottom loose, but I hand sewed them down as I think it looks neater, helps keep the shape and gives added padding to the bottom. Please ignore how badly the seams all line up, it was my first go!! ;-) NOTE: This is the INSIDE of the bag.

Then turn the bag out the right way, thread your ribbon/tape/cord into the top and you are ready to go. I love this pattern because there are no raw edges to finish and no funky shapes to get the nice finished drawstring channel.