treasure chest snap bag tutorial

Quinn asked me to sew a bag to put his little stuff in and I wanted to make something a little more involved than two squares and a draw string... and I had a new Sizzix die that I bought at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago...

It was a bag to hold his little treasures, so why not make it a treasure chest? And I didn't want to fiddle with a zipper, so why not make it a snap bag?



Supplies --

12 2x9" strips of brown fabric
1 scrap yellow fabric for lock
1 scrap dark solid brown or black fabric for keyhole
20x10" fabric for lining
20x10" piece of batting
fusible web
2 7 1/2" long pieces of metal measuring tape


To make the lock, I used the Sizzix Styled Labels die. This is the first time I've used a magnetic die. The shape inside the blades is open, and there are smaller magnetic dies that you can position in that space.

(That's where I made my mistake -- even though it very clearly says on the front of the packaging that the keyholes are included, I missed it. Instead of making Quinn wait until I got a second die, I cut the keyholes by hand.)



The Sizzix works a little differently than the AccuQuilt cutters. There are two cutting mats. One goes on the bottom, then the die, then the fabric, then the second mat.



I backed my yellow fabric with fusible web and ran it through the machine. Then I backed a small piece of solid fabric with fusible web and cut the keyhole. Fuse the keyhole to the yellow piece. If you don't have the die, a rectangle of yellow fabric would work, or you can find clip art of a similar shape and cut it by hand.



Sew the twelve 2x9" strips of fabric together along the long edges to form a panel. The first strip on either end will be folded under to create the casing, so don't use your favorite fabric in that position. The lock will go on the fourth strip from one end, so make sure the strips there are dark enough to make it stand out.

Once your panel is pieced (this would be a great way to use up some brown strings, or you could use a solid piece of fabric), layer it with the batting and lining and quilt as desired. I used a quilting pattern that I hoped would resemble wood grain.

Trim sides and ends. I zig-zagged around the edges to make the inner seams a little more finished looking and keep the little Lego guys' hands from getting caught on fraying fabric.



Cut two pieces of metal measuring tape, each one 7 1/2" long, an inch shorter than the width of the fabric panel. Because this bag is for a little boy, I decided to completely encase the metal pieces in scrap batting instead of just taping the sharp ends. You'll want the rounded out side of the measuring tape facing the inside of the bag -- I marked my batting on the right side so I didn't get confused when I put the tape into the bag.





Fold the strip at the end of each panel down towards the lining of the bag and sew along the edge to create the casing for your measuring tape pieces. Slide one piece of measuring tape into each casing.



Fold the bag in half, right sides together and sew along each side from the bottom fold up along the open edge of the casing. Be careful not to sew through that metal measuring tape -- my machine didn't like it very much! Turn right side out.



If you want to make your own bag, come back Saturday for the Quilter's Blog Hop. I'll be giving one of my readers the die cut fabric shape for the lock (you get to cut your own keyhole) and a set of brown strips identical to the ones I used in Quinn's bag, along with the batting and lining they'll need to make their own.

This post is linked to Create and Share at Trendy Treehouse, The Mommy Club at Crystal and Co., Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Handmade Tuesday at Ladybug Blessings, Tuesday Tutorials at the Kutz Corner, and Elm Street Quilts.