All about the Wee Billow Bag
Hello,
I’ve got some fun little bags to share with you today! I’ll also share some tips and a little pattern review! Links to all supplies I used are below.
All items have been bought by myself freely and as an Etsy affiliate, if you follow the link I will receive a small commission should you go on to purchase something!
Let’s get started!
Pattern:
Wee Billow Bag by Laura from Sweet Cinnamon Roses
What is the Wee Billow Bag?
It’s a cute little pouch bag that comes in two finished sizes and multiple pocket options (front, back and inside.) You can make it as a cute pouch or add some straps and it’s an adorable handbag!
Finished Size:
The large pouch is approx. 7.5’’ x 5.5’’ x 3.5’’ and the small one is approx. 6.5’’ x 4.5’’ x 2.5’’
All the samples in this blog post are of the large pouch.
Tell me about it!
The pattern is full of instructions and loads of images to guide you through making your own Wee Billow Bag.
It’s such a fun bag and a great way to use up small precious pieces of fabric and if you are a quilter like me, batting scraps too.
As Laura suggests in the pattern, in lots of places interfacing can be swapped for batting and quilted. Just make sure to cut your pieces larger before quilting and then trim down to size when quilting is completed.
With all my Wee Billow Bags, I have quilted the outer pocket pieces and just love the finished look of it. (I also love that I can make good use of those small batting off cuts!)
The first one I made was the large pouch, which for a while I couldn’t bring myself to actually use because I thought it was too pretty! It’s now a very well looked after make up bag!
Also, I was a little lazy with this one and instead of binding the raw edges, I simply zig zag stitched over the edges. It’s not as neat and professional a finish as binding it is, but it does give some cover and protection over the raw edges inside.
The second two I made were also the large size but I added some straps to them to make them into ‘handbags’ for my two girls (although I’d happily use them myself.)
When making the pouch into a bag you will need an additional 2 D rings (Mine are actually rectangle) and 2 lobster clasps to attach the strap to the bag.
To attach the D rings, loop them on to your ribbon before securing at the zipper ends. I swapped out the ribbon and made some double folded fabric strips which I then stitched together.
To make the bag straps, it was a similar affair to the D ring ribbons with a double folded fabric strips sewn together.
I cut the straps out as 2 ¼” x WOF strips. Fold the raw edges into the centre of the strip, on the wrong side and press in place. Then fold the strip in half so that the raw edges are fully concealed and press. You can also fold in the two ends so that they are encased too.
Top stitch all the way around and you will have a neat bag strap.
Loop each end through the lobster clasp ring and secure in place with a few rows of stitching.
Ok, I want to make one now, where do I get the supplies…
Links:
Fabrics are from my own stash but you can get some lovely Ruby Star Society and Heather Ross fabrics from Me and My Fabrics (I have bought a lot of my fabric from Vanesha recently and she has a beautiful selection!)
