Beetlejuice Handbag by Swoon Patterns

Coffee and sewing just go together!

Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice…Beetleju……Ha, I’m not saying it!

Do you ever feel like you need a bigger bag? All of your life doesn’t quite fit into your current bag, and it’d be nice to have a larger one, right? I sewed a big bag using Swoon Patterns “Annette Tote” sewing pattern. And, OMGSH! I am not joking when I say it’s a bigger bag. The bag is huge! I’ve made many Swoon patterns, and this one was no different. It’s well thought out, every pattern piece matches up, and the result is very professional-looking, as always.

I had some bright green Beetlejuice fabric and knew I wanted it for this bag. I also had black vinyl in my stash so, this was going to be a perfect bag for the spooky season. And, bonus, the new Beetlejuice movie came out around the same time I finished my bag. Yay!

If you’re new to bag-making, it can be a little intimidating. The most important thing is buying good quality interfacings and vinyl. Don’t skimp on these things. And, press, press, press.

Bonus, the pattern is my name, so you knew I was going to make a few of these, right?

Supply List:

• Annette Tote sewing pattern

• By Annie’s soft n stable (there are other brands, but this is THE best) Also, available on Amazon

• Sewing machine

• Wonder Clips. Pins are nice, but clips are my go-to for bag-making, especially if you use vinyl or leather

• Fabric for the outside (roughly1.5 yards)

• Lining fabric (1.5 yards)

• 2 Zippers- 1 for interior pocket, 1 for bag

• Interfacings

• Rotary cutter and mat

• Double-sided tape, I like Tandy leather

• Chalk marker

• Rulers

• Iron and board

• Marine Vinyl for handles and outside pockets, don’t skimp on this.

• Purse feet (optional)

• Metal hardware for handles

• Matching thread

• Printer, paper, and tape

I might have forgotten a thing or two, I’m going off memory here. There’s a whole list of what you’ll need in the pattern instructions. The fabric amount is probably wrong as well, make sure to check the pattern.

Annette Satchel first steps.

Interface everything!

• After you’ve printed the PDF pattern, cut, and taped everything together, it’s time to start the bag.

• Trace your pieces onto the fabric. Cut all the extra pieces there aren’t actual pattern pieces for.

• Interface everything! You have to sew the foam to the interfaced fabric main pieces. A serger is nice for this, or use the zigzag stitch on your machine.

• Cut out the vinyl handle pieces and place them onto the purse front and back. This is easy to do by folding the purse front in half and marking the CF. Use your ruler and chalk to mark placement spots for the handles. Use your double-sided tape to attach the handle in place.

Sew the handle connectors on.

Clip the 2 pieces of the side pockets together, matching placement points. This will feel funny, but it creates a nice big pocket. This pocket will fit a few cell phones, a small water bottle, a stuffed puppy, or a pair of flip-flops.

My Beetlejuice bag is coming along nicely.

Create the interior pocket. Leave a large gap in the bottom, this is how you will turn the bag right side out after it’s completed.

Purse feet are nice to have but not necessary.

You will sew the bottom base to the front and back of the bag. Topstitch. Below is what the outer will look like.

Now it’s time for the interior of the bag. I had some fun stripe fabric left over from a Halloween quilt I made last year. I didn’t have enough for the whole interior, but I made it work. Making bags is fun because you can use scraps for inside pockets and other small areas.

The intereior of the bag. Stripe fabric for the sides and Beetlejuice fabric on the bottom base.

Now the bag starts coming together.

Take the bag's main piece and side pocket pieces, and get your clips.

Start by clipping at the top, then the middle marked spot, and go from there.

Sew from one top edge, down and around, and up to the other edge. Repeat for both sides.

Clip, clip, hooray!

After the outside is finished, sew the interior the same way. This will be easier because there isn’t a layer of thick foam.

Add your own label. This is the chef’s kiss!

Clip around the top of the inside and outside. Sew!

Use lots and lots of clips.

Turn inside out through the interior pocket. This is tough, but you’ll persevere. LOL

The last step is to make the handles.

I usually make mine a little shorter or longer than what patterns call for. I measure the length I prefer with a soft measuring tape, draped over my shoulder.

Fold the handle in half, mark, then fold each side to the mark down the middle. Using the double-sided tape really helps with this part. Clip and sew.

When sewing vinyl, you cannot backstitch. The needle leaves permanent holes, so go slow and sew carefully.

Mark the center point, fold each edge to the line. Then fold onto itself, clip, then sew.

Insert into the hardware rings on your purse. Sew a few rows of stitching across the vinyl.

Dress accordingly and go see the new Beeltejuice movie.

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That’s it! Your big beautiful handbag is ready to get filled with everything on the planet.

It’s a fairly simple handbag to sew. I’ve made the smaller version as well and love it.

I’ve never had a handbag this large before so, I do feel a little funny shopping with it. I haven’t knocked anything over inside a store, yet. Haha! Oh, and it takes up a whole seat at a restaurant, but it fits everything! My laptop and camera both fit inside, which is nice if I’m on a photoshoot.

Do you need a huge carpet bag like this? I plan on making another in a different fabric- one that is more suitable for year-round use. I also might make a third using some leftover camera fabric from this skirt project.

Here’s a silly reel I made on Instagram showing what fits inside the bag.

Happy bag-making!

Annette

Movie theater goofball photos.

Bat Wing Top

Halloween is almost here! Do you know what that means? Halloween project time. Whether you plan on sewing costumes, home decor, spooky gifts, or something else, it's time to dust off the sewing machine. 

It's finally October, which is Halloween month. We start decorating around mid-September and my whole house is transformed into a "haunted mansion". Halloween is my most favorite holiday ever!! After Thanksgiving of course, because... mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Yum! 

This is a fun top that you can make in a jiffy. You can wear it at home or around town, to the office, or trick or treating with your little ones. I recently made it and had to share it! It's too dang cute to keep it a secret.

Quick, grab the FREE Gone Batty top from Patterns for Pirates here. Then, click here for the sewing tutorial. It's the cutest!! Talk about a last-minute costume that's appropriate for work and/or school. You can wear it as an everyday top as well. It comes in one size that fits most, so no fussy fitting issues to worry about. All the wins with this one! Yes, please!!

I've had a long history of bats through caving experiences and I've grown to love them most of all. Bats are my favorite Halloween creature. When I saw this pattern last year (why did I wait so long??) I had to have it. Umm... a shirt with bat wings, yes, please! Bonus, you could even sew white topstitching thread to make it a spiderweb instead, if you wanted. Ooh maybe that'll be next year's project. 

Supply List

• P4P Gone Batty PDF pattern 

• 1 5/8 yard of Knit fabric

• Sewing machine with zigzag stitch

• Sewing supplies and notions

• Halloween music playing in the background (this is a must)

Put your PDF pattern pages together matching the letters at the ends. Tape the pages together and then cut out the pattern shape. Make sure your knit fabric is washed. Knit shrinks. Toss it in the wash on a quick wash setting and warm water. Dry your fabric on a warm setting too. Get all the shrinkage out of the way first.

The top is cut out like a circle skirt. You fold your fabric in half and then, in half again. You can use the whole pattern or use the cut-out shapes to make the "wings" along the hem. Sounds simple, right? It is! 

I did the full size PDF. It taped together nicely. No issues.

Cut out the pieces.

Should look like this.

The pattern was a smidge larger than the fabric amount I had.

Top and neckband.

So, I ran into a teeny-weeny problem. The knit I bought was 60" wide. Well, after I washed it, it shrank about 2". In the above photo on the left, you can see the pattern runs off the fabric. I traced that scallop to the end of the fabric. See... ya gotta make sure you wash your knit. It shrinks like crazy. 

Time to Sew

The pattern instructions have you take your high hip measurement and divide it by 4. I got 9". You find the center line and draw a line out to the side from that. 
Then, you make an angled line 12" up from that line. There weren't any exact measurement points for these, so you eyeball it. 

Now, this is where I urge you to use a chalk marker and baste where your stitch lines are supposed to be. I found out the hard way, the top would not fit me according to these loose measurements. I was blessed in the bust department and couldn't get the top over my body. LOL! After unpicking black thread on knit fabric for 30+ minutes, I wanted to share this little piece of advice with you. 

• Sorry about the blurry photo, but this is how much I had to unpick. I re-drew the line and tapered it out about 1 inch. This gave me 4 extra inches total and ended up fitting perfectly.

• You can see the slightly angled-out seam. This is the side seam and I needed more room than the instructions gave.
  
  

The instructions have you use the stretch stitch, which is the one that looks like a lightning bolt.

​I urge you to baste your side seams first. That stretch stitch is a pain in the butt to unpick. Especially when using the same color thread on knit fabric.

Save your eyeballs, please! 

After you've tried it on and it fits correctly in all the right places, go back and use the stretch stitch to sew your side seams. 
Then, sew the rest according to the directions. I used the stretch stitch for this too. 
​

Onto the neckband:

Sew the short sides together. Then fold over, RST.

Stretch a little, catch all 3 layers.

I don't remember reading the instructions anymore after this part. Oops! But, I went ahead and topstitched the neckband onto the top. I like the finish it gives. Use a regular zigzag stitch to do this if you'd like. 

It had some rippling but, the iron took it out after a good press.

I had so much fun making this top. And way more fun taking my photos!! I had fun music playing and danced around in my batwing top. I think I'll live in this for the month of October! I love, love, love it!!! I was channeling my inner ghoul. 

So, what do you think? Are you itching to make one? 

If you need more Halloween sewing inspiration, make Trick or Treat bags or DIY your own Halloween home decor. I also made a Fall circle bag. It was a little fail, but cute nonetheless.


See ya later, I've gone Batty!!