A Honeycomb Library Bag
continued
The front and the back sides of the bag are each are about 12" long, with the extra material forming the flap. I had some fun piecing together fabric I had in my stash to make the lining. Any reasonably sturdy fabric will do.
Sewing the Lining
Measure out a piece of fabric 2" shorter in length and the same width as your woven fabric (width being the shorter of the two dimensions).
At this point you can add pockets. I cut and hemmed two pieces of fabric to fit my library card and another for keys. I then placed these on the liner so that they would be located on the front side of my bag and sewed them directly to the liner. This way when I put a book into the bag it won’t squash my keys into my side the whole walk home!
Steam press a ½"hem along all sides of your liner. Pin the lining with the “public” side facing out to the “non-public” side of your woven fabric. Taking care that the lining is centered, using the straight stitch on your sewing machine, stitch the fabric in place. (Before this step, you can stitch down the hems along the edge of your liner fabric, if you’re
worried about not being able to catch them when you’re sewing your liner into place.)
The next step is to hem the ends of your bag material. Fold 1" of fabric down and then fold that end down again another inch. Straight stitch this into place. This will encase your liner as well. I hand stitched along the sides of these hems to create
a neat, enclosed corners as the hem was quite large.
(Note: This yarn is a bit catchy, so you may have to wrestle with your sewing machine if it’s as basic as mine.)
Continue weaving this pattern for 34". As you weave, you will see that the heavy yarn forms an oval pattern around your weft yarn giving it the appearance of honeycomb and hence the pattern Only two steps left!
Next you’ll pin the front and back sides of your bag together public sides out with the seams exposed, leaving a 6" or 8" flap, depending on how you want your final bag dimensions to play out. Using a straight stitch, I machine stitched up and down each side twice for added security.
Making the Strap
I measured out enough 60" lengths of both of my warp and weft yarns to create two ½” thick bundles. Using a fringe twister, I twisted them to create a long strap. You could also use the Incredible Rope Machine or you could braid a strap.
Knot each end and stitch it into place at the top of the seam where the front and back of the bag meet. Stitch the ends down just above the knots, so that the fringe-y ends pop out just a bit for show. Voila!
Happy Weaving!