Evening bag

By Spotlight

Sassy & simple - this go anywhere evening bag suits various ages & styles, plus it lets you frolic with fringing.

Final Result

Materials

• 30cm x 112cm (or wider) black satin fabric (medium weight)
• 50cm x 30cm long fringe trim - ivory
• 1.25m black polyester cord
• sewing machine
• Gütermann sewing thread
• scissors
• tape measure/ruler
• pins
• iron
• bag clip (optional)

Step 1

Bag
Cut two pieces of satin fabric, each measuring 26cm high by 23cm wide. With right sides together, sew sides and bottom edges together using a 1.5cm seam allowance, leaving top edges open. Clip corners and turn right side out. Press flat.

Step 2

Trim
Sew fringe trim around top of satin bag, lining up top edges and with the fringe hanging down. Overlap ends by 1cm, trim if needed.

Step 3

Pocket
For inside pocket cut a small piece of satin measuring 16cm high by 13cm wide. Press bottom and sides of pocket piece under 1cm and press top edge under 1cm then another 1cm for a double hem. Topstitch top hem of pocket 18mm from top edge.

Step 4

Lining
Cut two pieces of satin fabric, each measuring 30cm high by 23cm wide. Place pocket in the centre on the right side of one of the satin lining pieces 10cm down from top edge. Topstitch side and bottom edges to lining 2mm from edge of pocket. Leave hemmed top of pocket open.

Step 5

Strap
Measure 5cm down from the top of lining piece on left-hand side and with the cord facing in towards fabric sew one end of the cord to the side, 5mm in from the edge. Secure the other end of cord to the right-hand side of lining piece aagain 5cm down from top edge with cord facing in towards fabric. With right sides together, place remaining lining piece on top of pocketed lining piece and sew sides and bottom edges together using a 1.5cm seam allowance, making sure cord is in lining and not caught up in seams. Clip corners and press seams but do not turn right side out.

Step 6

To finish
Press top raw edge of bag lining over 2cm to the wrong side then a further 2cm. Insert lining into bag and pin double pressed top hem of lining over the top of the fringe trim and pin in place. The double hem will cover the top edge of fringe trim. Make sure the cord is free then topstitch top hem of lining to the bag, 18mm from top edge. Press top hem flat.