Harry Potter Tote Bag {Tutorial}

Hooray! It's that time of year when Marissa at Rae Gun Ramblings runs her
Happy Harry Potter series to celebrate the days leading up to Harry's birthday on
July 31st! I'm so excited to be participating again this year. It's no secret that we love
Harry Potter and I can't wait to share with you my tutorial for this adorable
Harry Potter Tote Bag!

(Be sure to go read to the end of the post to enter an awesome Harry Potter
prize pack giveaway!)

To make this Harry Potter tote bag you will need:

Rotary cutter

sewing machine

Peach/beige fabric

Hogwarts red and gold/yellow fabric

black fabric

Harry Potter Glasses template

Heat n' Bond Lite

For the body of the bag, you'll need fabric cut in the following 

colors and dimensions:

Beige/Peach fabric
2 pieces - 18x14

Black Fabric
1 piece - 8x14
1 piece - 3x14
1 piece - 8-9x14
1 piece 4x15

Red fabric
1 piece - 10.5x18
4 pieces - 2.25x7

Yellow/Gold fabric
1 piece - 6.5x14
5 pieces - 2.25x7

Ok, now that you have all your fabric cut for the body of the bag,
 let's put Harry's face together!

1. Take your red and yellow 2.25"x7" pieces and sew them together with a 1/2" seam

allowance, alternating red and yellow to make Harry's scarf. I goofed on this part and only

made my piece 4" long, but didn't realize it until they were all sewed together. I didn't

want to start over again, so I did what Tim Gunn says to do and made it work!

2. Fold under a 1/4" on each long side and iron. Then pin to your bag. I bumped my

scarf up 1.5" from the bottom, because the bag will "eat" that much when put together.

You won't need to do that because you will have made your pieces the right size!

Sew the scarf to the bag piece as close to the edge as you can. I call this a topstitch.

3. For Harry's hair, take your 8x14" piece of black piece of fabric and adhere a piece of 

Heat'n'Bond Lite to the wrong side per the package instructions. Sketch out what

Harry's hair looks like to yours on the paper side, cut along your sketch lines, and then

adhere the hair fabric to your bag piece per package instructions. Edge stitch along the

jaggedy edges of the hair. You don't need to do the top or sides since you used Heat'n'Bond

and the other sides will be part of the seam allowance when you put the bag together.

4. For Harry's glasses take your 4"x15" piece of place fabric and adhere another piece

of Heat'n'Bond to the wrong side of the fabric. Pin the glasses template to the fabric

and cut out. Adhere the glasses to the bag body piece and then edge stitch to secure

the glasses to the bag.

Don't forget to use the template to stitch on Harry's scar! I used pink thread with a
red bobbin and I love how it turned out.

Yay! Harry's face is done!

5. For the back of the bag, you can do a solid piece, but I wanted to change it up and

do a blocked piece. So, I took my yellow 6.5"x14 piece, black 3"x14" piece and

red 10.5"x14 piece and sewed them together to make a more interesting back piece.

6. Now all your pieces are ready to put together into a bag! Put the Harry Potter face 

and blocked back with right sides together, pin, and sew with a 3/8" seam allowance 

on three sides, leaving the top open. Repeat with your interior lining pieces - one black

and one beige piece 18"x14".

7. Pinch and flatten the corners of each "bag" and sew a line 1 1/2" from the

point to create a boxy bottom.

Now for the fun scrappy straps!

8. For your straps you can just take 2 pieces of fabric that are 5"x26" or you can make
them scrappy and fun by piecing together different sized blocks. I cut 2 sets of pieces
that were 5" wide and varied length from 3"-6" and sewed them together.

9. Then, take your scrappy strap pieces and iron them in half with wrong sides together.
Next, open up and iron each side into the middle creaseyou create. Fold over and iron
closed do you don't have any exposed seams.

10. Now that your straps are all iron and pretty, edge stitch down both long sides and
you've got fun scrappy straps for your Harry Potter bag.

Time to put the bag together!
 

11. Turn your interior lining piece right sides out and slip it inside your piano/lyrics

exterior fabric so that the right sides are together.

12. Pin your straps in between the right sides about 2.5" from the sides of the bag.

 13. Sew up the top of the bag with a .5" seam allowance, making sure

to leave a 2"-3" opening for turning the bag right side out.

14. Turn your bag right side out and then push the lining into the bag and top stitch
around the bag to make it looked finished and close up the hole you left for turning.

I love how it turned out! Thank so much for joining me! Be sure to check out my other

tutorials and recipes and come back again to see what's new!

In addition to the awesome Happy Harry Potter posts by over 50 bloggers,

Marissa is running TWO awesome Harry Potter giveaways! You can enter 

Harry Potter Giveaway #2 below! And head over to Rae Gun Ramblings to enter

the the other giveaway! Good luck!

 

Prize Pack #2
 See more about each prize and sponsor at this giveaway post and be sure to enter the
other equally awesome prize pack while you're there!
Winner must have a US address or be willing to pay for international shipping.

• Black Wand Holster and Magic Wand (toddler, child, and adult sizes available)
• Character Shirt (Choice of Snape, Hermione, or Luna)
• Make Love Book Bag
• Words are Magic Quote Pillow
• The Unofficial Guide to Crafting the World of Harry Potter
• Personalized Hogwarts Acceptance Letter
• World of Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit
• One Dozen Harry Potter Cookies
• Hedwig Owl Post Necklace
• Lit Joy Crate June Box
• Harry Potter Character Funko of Choice (restrictions apply)
• 10$ Worth of Harry Potter Art Prints
• Classic Maillot Swimsuit SEWING PATTERN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Harry Potter "Magic" Pillowcase Tutorial

 It's no secret that we love Harry Potter. I've always loved him and the book

series, but it is so fun to live it all over again now that my kids are

old enough to appreciate the books and the movies. 

It's like I'm living that magical moment again 

when I opened Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the first time.

So, I am thrilled to be joining my favorite Marissa of Rae Gun Ramblings

for her Happy Harry Potter Series! I'm sharing how to make a MAGIC Harry Potter

Pillowcase. It's magic, not because it is imbued with an enchantment, but because

when you're sewing it for the first time, you're thinking to yourself,

"This will never work!" And then VOILA! like magic, it does!

So, let's get this Harry Potter party started!

You'll need to cut three pieces of fabric:

Main fabric 27"x41" (mine is red)

Cuff fabric  12"x41" (mine is yellow)

Accent Band 3"x41" (mine is black)

You'll also need:

Harry Potter Glasses pattern

gold thread

fusible interfacing

STEP ONE

First, iron your main fabric and cuff fabric flat. Fold the accent band in half

lengthwise with wrong sides together and iron. Layer the three fabrics with right sides

up, matching one of their 41" sides, with the cuff fabric on the bottom, then the main

fabric, and finally with the accent band on top.

STEP TWO

 Then, pin the three layers together across the long side.

Then, pick up the loose side of your main fabric and roll it like a

fruit roll-up toward the pinned edge, stopping when you're about the middle

of your cuff fabric underneath.

STEP THREE

Pick up your cuff fabric and fold it up over your little main fabric

fruit roll-up, match it with the pinned edge, and then repin through all

four layers of your fabric. 

It will look like this when you are done.

STEP FOUR

 Then, sew 1/4" along the pinned edge.

STEP FIVE

Stick your hand inside your fabric fruit roll-up and pull out the main fabric

to turn your pillowcase right side out. Magic! 

Then, iron it flat so it looks all beautiful and crisp. I top stitched

along the bottom of my cuff line, near the accent band, but this is optional.

I just think it looks classy :)

STEP SIX

Next, we're going to leave our pillowcase for a minute and make the

Harry Potter glasses applique. Print off your applique pieces. Cut a piece

of scrap fabric and a piece of fusible interfacing (like Heat and Bond or Wonder Under)

the same size as your glasses applique piece. Follow the package directions for your

fusible interfacing and adhere the interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric.

I used Heat and Bond Light, because I wanted it to hold my glasses applique, but I also

wanted to be able to sew it for added stability. 

Pin the glasses to your fabric and cut out. In this case, it doesn't matter which

side you pin the pattern to.

Ta-da!

STEP SEVEN

Again, following the package directions, iron your applique glasses piece

to your pillowcase. I put mine near the open edge of my pillowcase piece, 

where I will eventually sew and create my seam. If you put yours here, keep in mind

that you will lose about 5/8". I placed mine about an inch or so from both the side and bottom

seams and then sewed them on with a zig zag stitch. 

I also used some gold thread to sew Harry's lightning bolt scar above

the glasses. I drew the scar on, following the pattern on my printable, with my

disappearing ink and then sewed over it several times to give it some thickness.

STEP EIGHT

Now it's time to close our pillowcase up! We are going to use a 

French seam, so you are going to go against everything you know about

sewing and put your WRONG SIDES TOGETHER and sew long the long side

and bottom with a 1/4" seam allowance, with your RIGHT SIDES OUT. 

I know, it feels so wrong, but it will be so right! 

STEP NINE

Now, turn your pillowcase wrong side out, with you right sides together, iron

the seam so the pillow case lays flat, and then sew 3/8" from the side along the seam you

just sewed when your pillowcase was right side out. 

Now, turn your pillowcase right side out and you are done!

You'll have a cute little French seam to show for it!

See, it's totally magical. And now your favorite Harry Potter

lover can curl up with his new comfy pillowcase and favorite Harry Potter

book and just read!

Don't forget to enter the amazing Harry Potter giveaway that 

Rae Gun Ramblings is hosting! (and remember to share with me!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway