I have a fun guest post today for you. Angela has one of my newest found sewing blogs and I just LOVE her blog. She is so talented and I’m excited she was able to guest post here today!
If you missed my post yesterday, head on over here to check out our Back to School giveaway going on right now through August 13th!
Now on to Angela’s post…
Hi! I’m Angela and I blog over at
Crafting Zuzzy where I share the things I make. Mostly I sew clothes for my 2 year old and brand new baby, but I dabble in other crafts too. Today I am excited to show y’all (did I mention I’m from Texas?) how to add patch pockets to the inside of a tote bag!
There are loads of great tote bag tutorials all over the blogosphere. I sewed one up this week (usingÂ
this tutorial) but needed some pockets on the inside of my bag. There are fancy pockets that are sewn inside the seams of the bag, but they take a bit of thinking. A patch pocket on the otherhand is so simple, and doesn’t take much brain power (great for a momma like me who is getting up 2+ times a night to feed her baby!)
Let’s get started:
You will need some fabric scraps. I used the same fabric as my bag lining.
FIRST decide how big you want your pockets to be. Then add an inch to the width of your desired measurement (3/4″ for the top + 1/4″ for the bottom) and 1/2 inch to your desired length measurement (1/4″ for each side). So if I want my final pocket to be 5 inches by 5 inches I will cut a piece that is 6 inches by 5 1/2 inches.
SECOND cut out your pockets. I am making 4 pockets for my bag.
THIRD fold in the edges 1/4 inch and iron them down.
FOURTH fold the top down 1/4″ then another 1/2″
FIFTH sew across the top
And your pocket is done! Now it’s time to sew the pocket to your bag lining (You must sew your pockets to your bag BEFORE you sew your bag together)
Here is what your bag lining will look like before you sew it together. Place your pockets on the fabric. Remember that the bottom will be in the middle and the top on the outer edge, so place your pockets accordingly. You don’t want your pocket to be upside down when you are all done!
Sew your pockets down. Here’s what mine looks like (hard to see I know, that why I drew the pretty picture for you)
You will sew as close as you can to the edge of the pocket, then again 1/4″ from your first seam line. Sewing two lines will reinforce your pockets.
Now that your pockets are sewn to the lining, follow your tote bag instructions to finish your bag.
Now that we are all done, let’s check out those pockets!
Now enjoy having the perfect, custom-sized pockets in your tote bag!
Thanks for having me Megan!
Hi Megan , i just finish my pockets , great tutorials i love it thanks a lot very good
I’m glad it helped you!!