Bag Making
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Choosing Bag Making Supplies
Good hardware makes a handmade bag look professional. Our metal D rings, triangle connectors, adjustable sliders and snap hooks come in 25mm and 38mm sizes and in silver, gold, gunmetal and rainbow finishes, with 6 piece sets for D rings and triangle connectors if you want everything in one go.
Match your hardware to the width of your webbing, so 38mm webbing suits 38mm hardware. Our webbing includes plain, striped and herringbone cotton styles in a range of widths, and you can browse them all in Ribbons and Trims. For fastenings, see our Zips, including two way metal zips, and for a ready printed front, try the Old Masters and Dolce Vita Lemons canvas bag panels.
For sewing, use strong thread from Threads and a sturdy needle from Pins and Needles. Add structure with Interfacing, line your bag with Calico, or choose leather look and PVC fabrics for a wipe clean finish.
Bag Making FAQs
What size bag hardware should I buy?
Buy hardware to match your webbing, with 25mm D rings, sliders and snap hooks for 25mm webbing and 38mm for 38mm. Measure your strap rather than guessing, and remember that fabric straps start much wider than the finished width, as Crafty Gemini’s adjustable strap tutorial shows by cutting a 4 inch wide strip to fit 1 inch (25mm) D rings. Check the width on each webbing listing too, and if you want everything in one go, the 6 piece D ring and triangle connector sets at The Cheap Shop are an easy place to start.
How do I attach a D ring and an adjustable slider to a strap?
Fold one end of the strap through the slider and stitch it back on itself, then loop the other end through the D ring and back through the slider, checking for twists as you go. Crafty Gemini’s tutorial walks through the sequence with the strap entering from the back each time, and Art Quilt Maker’s guide to triglides and slider buckles shows how several layers of strap end up sharing the slider, so choose hardware with a little room to spare. Gutermann Top Stitch thread from our Threads range is a sensible choice for strap stitching, and the adjustable sliders and D rings are at The Cheap Shop.
How do I sew through thick layers of webbing and hardware?
Use a heavy needle, a longer stitch and a hump jumper, and clip your layers rather than pinning them. Quality Sewing’s guide to heavy fabrics suggests denim needles from 90/14 to 110/18, a stitch length of 4.0 to 4.5mm for straps and webbing, and clips instead of pins, while Country Cow Designs explain how a hump jumper levels the presser foot so you can sew around hardware, as long as the hardware isn’t exceptionally thick. The Bulky Seam Aid, also called a hump jumper, is in our Sewing Accessories range, with Schmetz machine needles in Pins and Needles at The Cheap Shop, so check the listing for a denim or jeans type.
Which zip should I use for a bag?
Choose a strong zip, such as a metal one, that is slightly longer than your opening, and pick a two way zip if you want to open the bag from either end. Our Bag Making range includes two way closed end metal zips, which Wikipedia’s overview of zips notes are often used in luggage with either one or two pullers, and it also explains gauge sizes, where a bigger number means wider teeth, so check the gauge on the listing. A zipper foot lets you stitch close to the teeth, and the Hemline Adjustable Zipper/Piping Foot in our Sewing Accessories range does the job, with more zips in Zips at The Cheap Shop.