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The Retreat Bag
Designed by Janelle MacKay - Emmaline Bags & Patterns
Copyright 2015 - All Rights Reserved

A make-up bag, sewing bag, swap bag - or just a bag perfect for any sewing retreat. This bag is easy to make
and holds a lot of goodies! The frame on this bag creates an opening that stays open no matter what, making it
both handy and professional looking.

The key to making this bag work is interfacing and fusible fleece. You need to have nice sturdy sides to make it
work ideally; and interfacing on both the lining and exterior is very important. Use patchwork, quilting or décor
cotton. If you don’t have access to fusible fleece, try some Soft & Stable, headliner foam, or some sew-in heavy
woven.

The required wire frames are available in the purse frame section at www.emmalinebags.com

Finished Size: Length: 8 1/2” Height: 5” Width: 4”

____________________________________________________________________________

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING INFORMATION:

§ You may sell items made from this pattern in your shop or market stall; however this pattern is not to be
used for mass production.
§ You may not claim this pattern as your own.

NOTES: Read pattern instructions completely before starting.

Seam Allowances are 1/4” (6 mm) unless otherwise specified. Always backstitch at the beginning and end of
seams. Use a longer stitch length for thicker fabrics and topstitching (3 - 3.5).
Fabric Requirements are based on a 44” (112 cm) width.
A Walking Foot is recommended.
RS = right side of fabric
WS = wrong side of fabric
DST = double-sided tape

MATERIALS: (yardages are approximate and generous)

Fabric and Interfacing:

1 FQ Exterior fabric (quilting cotton, or similar weight fabric recommended)
1/2 yd./0.5 m Lining fabric (quilting cotton recommended)
1 yd./1 m 20” wide Interfacing (Light - Medium fusible non-woven OR non-woven interfacing
suitable for garments, such as Pellon Shapeflex SF101 or Pellon 911FF Fusible
Featherweight.)
25” x 8” Pellon TP971F Fusible Fleece Thermolam Plus or similar dense needled fusible fleece.

Supplies:
(2) 11” Internal Wire Frames (Emmaline brand - found at www.emmalinebags.com)
(1) 16” closed end nylon zipper (or 16” of zipper tape by the yard) - 1” wide

Notions & Tools:

- Thread to match all fabrics
- WashAway Wonder Tape or similar double-sided wash away tape 1/4” wide, or fabric glue for zipper
attachment (optional)
- Water-soluble Erasable Marking Pen, or Chalk Pencil
- Rotary Cutting Tool, Cutting Mat, and Large Ruler
- Zipper foot & Walking foot (optional) for your sewing machine

STEP 1 - Cut Your Pieces:

From Exterior Fabric:

(2) 13 1/2” (wide) x 9” (high) rectangles for Body Pieces
(2) 2” x 3” rectangles for Zipper Ends
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From Lining Fabric:
(2) 13 1/2 (wide) x 9” (high) rectangles for Body Pieces
(2) 8”x 8” squares for Pockets

From the Interfacing:

(4) 13” x 8 1/2” rectangles for exterior and lining Body Pieces
(2) 7 1/2” x 7 1/2” squares for Pockets

From the Fusible Fleece:

(2) 12 1/2” x 8” rectangles for exterior Body Pieces

STEP 2 – Attach The Interfacing:

For the fusible fleece & fusible interfacing:

Note: Iron to the WS of the corresponding fabric pieces using the manufacturer’s directions. I use a damp pressing
cloth & steam setting on fusible fleece, overlapping the pressing area and pressing while I count to 8. Turn over to
right side and smooth out fabric with iron. I use the same method for non-woven interfacing, but with no steam and
pressing cloth. Use the method that works the best for your product. Testing on a sample can be helpful.
13 1/2 ”

1) First fuse 1 layer fusible interfacing to

the WS of each exterior and lining Body
Piece, centered.

2) On exterior Body Pieces, add 1 layer

of fusible fleece over previously fused
interfacing. Be sure to use a pressing
cloth!

3) Fuse interfacing onto WS of pocket

pieces 9”

Wrong Side Exterior Body Piece

Light - Medium Interfacing
Fusible Thermolam Plus (Fleece)

STEP 2 – Prepare & Mark the Fabric Pieces:

Mark the Pieces: Mark 1” from Mark 1” from

1) On the WS of each of the 4 Body Pieces, outside edge outside edge
on the top edge only, make a mark 1” from
both the left and right side edges. See the
blue marks in the drawing.

2) On each of the 4 Body Pieces, mark and

cut out a 2” square on each of the bottom
corners. Hint: Save time by stacking and
cutting 2 or more at once.

3) Optional: Pull back and trim off the fusible

fleece from the seam allowance around the Trim fleece
2” cut outs to reduce bulk in the seams. from seam
2” allowance 2”
2” 2”

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STEP 3 – Make and Attach the Pockets: 8”

Make the Slip Pockets:

1) Fold (1) 8” x 8” pocket piece RS together & pin
around raw edges.

2) Using a 1/4” (6 mm) seam allowance, sew the 3 sides with

4”
raw edges together, leaving a 3” (8 cm) gap
for turning. Don’t forget to backstitch starts and stops! leave open
for turning
TIP: Always leave your needle down (in the fabric) when turning
corners.

3) Before turning right side out, press the seam

allowance on the 3” (8 cm) opening open. Do this by first
pressing one side back, then flipping over and pressing back
the other.

4) Clip 4 corners, turn, and press.

5) Stitch 1 or 2 rows of topstitching across long folded edge

(top) about 1⁄4” - 3/8” (6 mm - 1 cm) from edge.

6) Repeat steps 1 - 5 for 2nd pocket.

Attach the Pockets:

1) Take one of your lining Body Pieces and fold it
in half along the longer (13 1/2”) side to find the
center, finger press to make a crease. RS Lining

2) Center your pocket on the folded crease, with

the bottom edge 3” up from the bottom. Pin in place.
Make sure it is straight!!

3) Edgestitch1/8” from the pocket edges, sewing

down one side, across the bottom and up the other
side. Leave the top open.

TIP: I like to bar tack the stop/starts so that they

are very sturdy.

4) Repeat steps 1 - 3 to attach the other pocket 3”

to the other lining Body Piece.

STEP 4 – Make & Attach the Zipper: 16”

Prepare the Zipper:
1) You will need a length of zipper that is exactly
16” long. So if you have a 16” zipper, cut off the metal
stops and the top and bottom zipper tails so that it is
16”. If you are using a longer zipper, or zipper by the
yard, cut a length of 16” zipper with no metal stops.

2) Make sure the tails on the open end are even, and then about 1/2” from the end, sew across the zipper tapes to
keep them together.

Make & Attach the Zipper Ends:

1) Fold over and press 1/2” on first the short (2”)
ends, and then the longer (3”) sides of each
zipper end piece.

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(2) Insert 1 end of the zipper half way into the fabric
zipper end, folding the 3” sides over the zipper
tape.

3) Fold the fabric in half over the end of the zipper

and pin in place. I like to use DST (double-sided tape)
to secure the zipper and the fabric in place.

4) Sew a box around the outside edges of the zipper end, staying 1/8” from the edge. As you go, you may need to
use a pin, seam ripper, or an awl to poke any raw edges that pop out back inside. Repeat this procedure to secure
the other fabric zipper end to the other end of the zipper.

Attach the Zipper:

1) Place 1 lining Body Piece
on your work surface RS up.
Center your zipper over this, RS
up, aligning top edges.

2) Place 1 exterior Body Piece

over these WS up, aligning top edges.

NOTE: Generally when you look at a bag

front, the zipper will open from left to right.
If you are planning to have a specific
Body Piece as a back or front for this
project, please note this particular body
piece will be oriented on the “back” of
the bag with zipper pull on the right side
when closed.

3) Pin or use DST across the top 3 edges

of lining, zipper, and exterior. I ALWAYS
use DST because it completely prevents
any stretching that can happen when you
are sewing with zippers.

4) Using your zipper foot and a 1/4”

seam allowance, start sewing near
the middle of the top edge, stopping
at the 1” mark you made previously.
Backstitch about 3 stitches or so, and
stop with the needle DOWN. Do
not remove this unit out from under the
needle yet! Raise your presser foot.

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5) Grab the end of the zipper and pull it to the left

and out of the seam allowance. Pull it over at an angle
so that when you continue stitching, you will not sew
over it.

TIP: You will be doing this 3 more times on each end and
side of the zipper and you will need to try and make sure
that the zipper ends are pulled away from the seam at
the same angle so that the finished product looks even.
To do this, I pull my zipper down and out of the way so
that the right edge of the zipper tape is about 3/4” from
the edge of the fabric.

6) Lower your presser foot, hold

the unsewn ends of the top edge of
the Body Pieces together with your
right hand, and the zipper out of the
way with your left, and finish sewing
to the end. Backstitch.

7) Flip this unit over, and starting at

center again, use the same method to
sew the other end of the body piece
and zipper together, pulling the zipper
out of the way again, when you get to
1” mark.

8) Pull the exterior and lining pieces back,

away from the zipper, so that the WS are
together. First finger press the seam along
the zipper, and then press down with a
hot iron.

9) You will use the exact same method

to add the other Body Pieces to the other
edge of the zipper. Let me walk you through
it so that you can get the right pieces pinned
together on the right sides!

Place the 2nd lining Body Piece on your

work surface RS up. Center the unit you just
stitched over this with the zipper right side up.
The zipper pull will now be on the right.

10) Place the 2nd exterior Body Piece over

these WS up, aligning top edges of the 2nd
lining piece, zipper edge, and 2nd exterior.

11) Pin (or tape) together and sew together

in the exact same manner as you did with the
previous unit. (Steps 4 - 6)

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12) Pull back the two pieces you just attached,

so that they are WS together. Finger press, and
press with hot iron.

NOTE: Do not topstitch along the sides

of the zipper, this will happen later on in the
instructions.

13) OPEN your ZIPPER!!

STEP 5 – Assemble the Bag:

Sew the Lining and Exterior:

1) Pull the 2 lining pieces together so that they are
RS together, and pull the 2 exterior pieces together
so that they are RS together. WS
Exteriors
2) Pull the zipper ends towards the middle of the bag
so that they will not get caught in the outside seam
when it is sewn. Pin around all edges matching up
the center seams. NOTE: Do not pin the 2” cut out
corners together, these will not be sewn together in
this step.

3) Using a 1/4” seam allowance, sew along the sides,

making sure not to sew over the zipper ends. You may
need to reach in and poke them out of the way.

4) Sew across the bottom of the exterior Body Pieces WS

and then across the lining pieces, but leave a 4” Linings
opening in the lining bottom for turning.

5) Press all of the seams open. This can be done by

opening the seam allowance and first pressing one
side the seam allowance back, then flipping the unit
over to the other side, so you can press the other Leave opening
side of the seam allowance back. Ouch! Remember for turning
to turn off the steam setting!

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Box the Corners:

1) Pull open the square corner holes and match the
side and bottom seams together and pin in the center
of the seam so they stay aligned.

2) Flatten out the bag corner, pulling out the edges

to create the base. Stitch along the open edge with a
1/4” seam allowance, and again 1/8” on the right of
this to make a reinforced seam.

3) Repeat to create the other 3 corners.

STEP 6 – Finishing the Bag:

Turning the Bag:

1) Turn the bag right side out through the opening in the bottom of the bag. Gently push out the corners of exterior to
nice points.

2) Stitch the opening in the lining closed by either hand stitching or by pinning closed and stitching 1/16” away from
the edge with matching thread.

3) Push the lining into the bag exterior and press into the corners to fit.

Making the Casing for the Wire Frame:

1) Topstitch around the opening of the bag along the zipper, using a 1/8” seam allowance. I was able to use a
walking foot for this, but if you need to stitch very close to the zipper it may be necessary to use a zipper foot. Sew all
the way around the opening, pulling the zipper tails away as you come to them. Make sure you go slow and check to
make sure the lining is pulled away from the zipper inside to prevent puckers.
HINT: A sewing machine with a free arm is very helpful in this step. It can be done without, but it will be much easier
if you use the free arm.

2) To make the casing for the internal wire frame you will need to make another row of stitching 1/2” away from the
topstitching in step 1. This can be done by measuring and marking, adjusting your needle to the far left and using the
edge of your presser foot as a guide (for machines that are able to move needle position) or just eyeing it - as I do.

3) Use your seam ripper to open up a few stitches on the lining side seam in between the two topstitching lines (the
casing).

4) Using this opening,

slide 1 wire frame into each
side. Center wire frames.
Hand sew the opening closed.
TIP: You may want to glue the
rubber tips onto the wire frame
first, so that they don’t come off
inside the casing!

NOTE: After it has been

opened and closed several
times and the fabric is creased,
the frame will close naturally,
but in the beginning, you will
need to close the frame, and
then zip the opening closed. open

To get that “Boxy” look, after

closing, PINCH the fabric up
under the ends of the frame
so that it sits under the bend
of the frame.

Thanks for trying an

Emmaline Pattern!!

** PLEASE SHARE your bag on

Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/emmalinebagseyecandy/

Emmaline Bags & Patterns Copyright 2015 - All Rights Reserved