This is the Morse bag I made for a swap on Craftster.org.
A Morse Bag is one of the easiest bags to make. Its simple construction is accessible to the
beginning sewist. This makes it a perfect project for learning new
techniques. Best of all, everyone
appreciates a unique shopping bag. You
can practice all you like and not be overwhelmed with finished projects
There are tutorials for making the basic bag all over the
internet. The original Morse bag site is
here. Leslie of Leslies Art and Sew has a
great tutorial here as well. Her
pictures are most helpful.
The classic Morse bag calls for two pieces of fabric that
are 18 x 20 inches and two handle pieces that are 4 x 18 inches. These pieces can be cut from any fabric,
tablecloth, sheet, old clothes or whatever you have on hand. When upcycling you can create a paper pattern
or simply use a ruler and washable marker to draw the shape on the piece of
fabric.
The following diagrams will help if you are going to be
making your bag out of yardage. They are mapped out to conserve as much fabric as possible. The final piece won't be exactly as called for but the pattern is flexible enough that they work. I will show the necessary adjustments in later tutorials.
If your print runs with the grain of the fabric (double arrow), you will
need 20 inches of fabric. Purchase 5/8
yard of fabric that is 44 inches wide. Trim
it to 20 inches along the fold. Trim the
selvages. Cut at 18 inches from the fold
and then cut along the fold. (You don’t have to cut along the fold. You can leave the fold intact, eliminating
one of the French seams. It is a matter
of personal preference. All of the
directions from here out will assume that you have cut the fold.) You
will have two strips of fabric left that are close to but likely less than 4
inches wide by 20 inches long. The
original pattern calls for strips that are 4 inches by 18 inches. You will be able to adjust for the width when
you sew the handles. You can trim to 18
inches if you like but the extra length is fine and this eliminates waste.
If the pattern is perpendicular to the grain of the fabric
(double arrow) you will need to purchase 2/3 yard of fabric 44 inches
wide. Trim it to 22 inches along the
fold. Cut at 18 inches. Trim the 18 inch piece to 20 inches (trimming off the selvage edge). Cut along the fold to make two pieces. (Again you can choose to leave it intact and
eliminate the French seam along the bottom of the bag.) Trim the selvage off and cut along the fold
of the 4 inch strip. This leaves two
handle pieces that are 4 inches by about 22 inches. You can trim these to 18 inches if you wish.
At this point you have all of the pieces necessary to
assemble the classic Morse Bag.
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