This topic contains 17 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by 
beattie 8 years, 11 months ago.
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Hi,
I know it’s not prescriptive and I’m probably over-thinking things, but what seam allowances do people use (top and sides), how wide is the finished handle and where do you position them?
Also, does having a bottom fold rather than a seam make the bag stronger?
Thanks,
Hi Tarragon, well you are right, it isn’t prescriptive although making the seams too big will make the bag smaller. somewhere around half an inch maybe. I am rubbish at seam allowances tho’! I just sew a line!
Re positioning the handles I think it was intended to do by eye and the important thing is they are strongly secured either by doing a box with a cross inside, or reversing backwards and forwards, or sewing 3 lines of stitch.
I don’t know if a bottom fold makes it stronger but it is easier to line up because the fold stops the back and front moving around quite so much but its horses for courses.
Handles end up about an inch and a quarter. Thats quite comfy to hold I would say. Happy Bagging! 🙂
Hi Tarragon! I like Offcuts’ answer above, and there are lots of ways of doing things that vary with personal preference and what the material dictates.
RE the foldovers at the top of the bag, I usually make the first fold about 1cm wide and the second about 1 inch wide. Sorry to mix units on you! 😉For the side seams, I usually aim for the first seam to be a generous quarter of an inch (= about 8mm) from the edge of the material (not including any “fluffy bits” at the edge, left over from tearing the fabric to size, or at the selvedge of the material.) I trim any long fluffy bits off after sewing the first seam, if I think they’ll stick out of the second seam which I sew about 5/8 of an inch (= about 16mm) from the first seam.
RE handle placement, I know Pol likes to set them by eye, and I think Offcuts does too.
Some people, me included, use an object to measure from the edge of the material to the edge of the handle. Cathapple uses the length of her finger to “That crease” – in other words, not a numerical answer, just something that’s the right size. Ivybags uses a plastic comb that came from a Christmas cracker, Masterclock has a small ruler that he likes to use, I use a postcard. None of us measures the length in cm or inches, we use something that gives an acceptable result.
RE the bottom fold/ seam question, I think either is strong enough as a properly sewn French seam is very robust, but why cut fabric in half and then sew it up in the same place again?
Thanks everyone for your answers. It’s all helping and I feel I’m getting very close to my first morsbag. 😊
The question about the bottom fold vs seam is that my first fabric is a floral and so, with a fold, the flowers will be upside down on one side of the bag. OK so that could be a design feature, or my flowers could go sideways, but I’m sure I’ll work something out.
I expect my first will be a sort of private prototype and not one give away though! (So maybe I should start with a plain fabric…)
I shouldn’t worry too much Tarragon about the flowers being upside down one side. So long as the label is on the flowers-right-way-up-side people don’t worry! My seams vary according to the thickness of the fabric but my handles usually are standard size unless it is a small bag when I make the handles a bit thinner because it looks better. If you follow Offcuts and Beattie you will be turning out wonderful bags in a flash!
I agree with Krisaby, that upside down flowers are OK on the back of the bag. You could make it a 2-piecer to keep them all right way up, or cut the fabric so the fold is at the side and the flowers are all right way up.
This means adjusting where the handles go in, if you’re a touch perfectionist! I almost wrote out a whole lot (in my previous post) about the 1cm apart markings on the sides of my postcard for measuring where the handles go, so that you can place them accurately on side-fold bags! If you like I’ll do a photo tutorial on side-folds – later on, as we’re going out soon.
Basically, you allow about 3cm on the sides that will have a seam taken off them as compared to the fold at the side of the bag (=middle of the piece of fabric).
Maybe start with a non-directional fabric while you get the hang of it?
Tarragon, I’ve done a post with photos about using directional material in a sidefold bag. I hope this helps! 😀
I do show other people how to make morsbags using postcards (postcards are almost 6 inches so dividing the width of the bag into 3) but do it by eye myself. If you look at the 2 youtube videos you can see the two ways in action. It is worth watching the first one to the end to see who gets the bag and the special spectator in the second!
Aargh!! Why has that happened!!
Or is it just me that has 2 big black squares? I think my Flash is out of date!
Sorry! Thats better!
I have two “This page can’t be displayed” messages.
Ah! Now I scroll up I can see the first frame of two video clips. Well done Offcuts, it probably just took longer to load.
This is excellent! As is the other related post. Stand by for a first mors bag this weekend. (Now I’ve done it. I shall have to hope for bad weather on Sunday 😎)
LOL! When it rains I think “It’s a good morsbagging day”. When it’s sunny the garden calls and I have to fit in my daily morsbag in the evening.
I’m looking forward to hearing how you get on Tarragon! 😀
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