Makeup Bag Tutorial
August 23, 2011
Thanks for entering the giveaway, everyone! Congrats to the lucky winner, I’ll be sending the makeup bag off today or tomorrow!
For the rest of you, I put together a tutorial so even though you didn’t win, you can make your own! That’s almost as good, right?
The finished dimensions of this bag are:
4.5″ tall, 6″ wide across the top, 4.5″ wide across the bottom, and 2.5″ deep.
To make your own, you’ll need:
2 pieces of fabric cut 13″ by 7.5″
1 piece of lightweight fusible interfacing (I used Pellon 808)
1 7″ zipper
Start by applying your interfacing to the back of your outside fabric.
Then using the same technique from my cosmetic bag tutorial, sew the zipper to one short end.
Fold the sides back and press flat. Top stitch along that side.
Fold the outer fabric up so the bottom is even with the other side of the zipper.
Flip it over and do the same to the lining piece.
And sew the zipper along that side.
Turn it right side out and press along the zipper. Top stitch.
Decide how much bag you want above your zipper and measure to make sure it’s straight. I left about an inch.
Then at the bottom, make a square, measuring 1″ from the bottom and 1.25″ from the side.
Cut the corners.
Now turn the bag inside out. I don’t care how hard I try, I can never make my inner fabric the exact size of my outer fabric, so I decided to use it to my advantage.
Cut the lining along the bottom, make it 2 pieces.
Sew along the bottom you just cut, leaving a hole about 2″-3″ in the middle to turn the bag through.
Then sew down the sides with a 1/4″ seam allowance, stopping 1/4″ from the bottom.
Pinch the bottom together to make a corner. First the outer piece,
then the inner piece, and holding them together, sew closed with a 1/4″ seam allowance. They’ll be sewn to each other, which will help hold your lining piece down inside the bag.
Then turn the bag through the hole in the lining, poke out your corners, and sew the hole closed.
That’s it! They take me about 30 minutes to make, start to finish, and sew up so nicely! Enjoy!
Posted in
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:10 AM
Great tutorial! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this for us it is wonderful!
August 23rd, 2011 at 1:43 PM
I am so excited to get my bag in the mail!!!!
September 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 AM
Thanks for the great tutorial!!! I posted it in my blog (under the Tutorials page). Hope to make one soon.
September 4th, 2011 at 10:45 AM
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September 7th, 2011 at 10:37 AM
I adore the flowered fabric! Do you know who makes it?
September 8th, 2011 at 5:41 AM
[...] Need a little bag to tote around your makeup? Try this cute cosmetic’s bag. [...]
September 9th, 2011 at 4:03 PM
Cute bag! What are the finished dimensions?
September 16th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Where did you buy that beautiful pink bird fabric? I love it! Thanks for offering these tutorials.
Roberta in CNY
September 26th, 2011 at 4:06 PM
Hello! This is a very sweet little bag, but I’m a bit lost with the instructions after you cut the lining in 2 and then sew it up again… I don’t see the outer fabric getting sewn together at the sides at any point. And then I’m totally confused as to how the corners are being made – even though I have sewn a number of lined bags with the same kind of corners before, yours seem to be done a different way…
October 19th, 2011 at 10:02 AM
[...] Make-up bag @ Sew Like My Mom [...]
October 21st, 2011 at 10:35 AM
[...] [...]
November 14th, 2011 at 9:04 PM
I found this on Pinterest & thought I definitely better try it. I’ve just began sewing & got my first sewing machine.
It turned out great & this was a great tutorial. I’d definitely recommend it to a beginner.
November 28th, 2011 at 6:45 AM
Thanks for this tutorial!!! I can never get the lining the exact size too!
December 12th, 2011 at 5:46 PM
Maybe I am just really dumb, but I have been working on this tutorial for HOURS and have not been successful. If you took the pictures in a way that showed both the lining and the outside fabric so I knew where they were in relation to each other I think that would help a lot. It is a really cute bag, but I am having an extremely difficult time figuring it out.
December 23rd, 2011 at 11:11 AM
[...] next gift was one for my sister in law and I got it from a pattern here. And, I tell you, I’m pretty adept at reading patterns (with a little help from my mama) but [...]
December 24th, 2011 at 2:04 AM
[...] pockets (I think there are 6 pockets ranging in width from 1 to 5 inches). The zipper pouch is from this tutorial. It took me a minute (or several) to wrap my head around how it would all come out finished on the [...]
January 7th, 2012 at 12:13 PM
[...] two bags were from Sew Like my Mom, also a pinterest find. Can we take a moment to thank Goddess for whomever thought up Pinterest? [...]
January 10th, 2012 at 10:41 AM
i am in love with this fabric. who makes it? i neeeed it for my kitchen curtains!
January 14th, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Great tutorial! You’ve been featured on the Quality Sewing Tutorials blog.
We hand select only the best free tutorials and patterns for home sewers.
January 26th, 2012 at 12:00 AM
I’m also confused about the lining vs. the outter fabric when it comes to cutting the lining and then sewing the corners. I agree with Jess and Nina, that this part is quite confusing and the photos seems to almost be missing a step. Since Nina’s post was back in September and there still hasn’t been a response, I’m guessing we won’t get one from Sew Like My Mom, but has anyone else actually made this using this tutorial that could help clear things up a bit?
January 26th, 2012 at 12:31 AM
Okay! I figured it out. I looked very closely as the photos and it’s apparent that the lining is on the wrong side out when the side seams are being sewn. This part kind of threw me, but when I turned my lining to look just like hers, it became clear finally how to do it. The lining and the outside fabric side seams are both being sewn at the same time even though that doesn’t reallly show in her photo. That’s why the ‘hole’ is left in the bottom of the lining…so you can turn it back inside out through that hole and then you actually have to kind of do that again, only through the opening of the zipper. I know my explanation is not entirely clear, but maybe it will help someone else!
February 26th, 2012 at 4:24 PM
I just made the bag. If you look at the tutorial for the cosmetic bag, like this tutorial recommends, making this bag was much easier for me. And the comments above were helpful, too. The only thing I will do different is make the length a couple of inches longer.
Thanks for a great idea
March 7th, 2012 at 10:41 AM
[...] I ultimately settled on this cute bag from Sew Like My Mom. I liked the unusual shape and side [...]
March 9th, 2012 at 4:09 AM
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March 14th, 2012 at 6:00 PM
So should the the lining be unfinish- or raw edged on the interior?
July 17th, 2012 at 1:40 AM
[...] Makeup Bag Tutorial Sweet Verbena Let me start off by saying thank you so much for all of your support in response to my confession . I am overwhelmed by the amazing support and advice that has come my way. I didn't realize how many people had been through, or are still going through, the same dilemma. …nein (Ausrufezeichen) *lach* so heißt sie nicht die neue Stoffkollektion von Susanne besser bekannt als Frau Hamburger Liebe . Dutch Love hat sie diese liebevoll entworfene erste Kollektion für die Firma Hilco genannt. [...]
July 17th, 2012 at 1:58 PM
[...] decided I needed a bigger bag for my knitting notions. So I found another good tutorial at Sew Like My Mother and I made [...]
November 20th, 2012 at 7:25 AM
Wow, love this bag! So thankful for Pinterest that I stumbled across it and your site! I would be honored if you would consider uploading a photo of it (and any other sewing pattern or tutorial you might have) into SewSet, an on-line sewing pattern & tutorial search engine.
I would love for others to be able to find it when looking – amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing! Love it!
December 8th, 2012 at 9:27 AM
I love this! I made a cuple for little gifts. Thanks for the tutorial.
March 1st, 2013 at 8:02 PM
[...] you have the fabric, and the time, how about a make up case? Or a phone protector? If you’re going all out how about trying a QAYG (Quilt As You Go) tote [...]