advice on bag
 

For my mother's July birthday I am making her a bag - since she already has quilts, runners, placemats, etc... what's a quilter to do? Anyway, this is my first attempt and I have two questions:

Where do you find magnetic closures? Walmart doesn't have any and neither does my local quilt shop. I'm going on a small shop hop on Friday and will check those shops. I will also be near a Hobby Lobby.

Do you put anything in the bottom to firm it up? This is a smallish bag - 11X13. The pattern suggests buying the designer's product, but I wondered if you use anything and if so, what?

I've done the front, the back, and the tab, but am at a standstill until I find a closer thingy. The pattern also suggests velcro, but I'm not a fan.

I'm surprised that your quilt shop doesn't have them. I think you can get them on several on line places, like Nancy's Notions, or I Have a Notion, or JoAnn's, maybe even Connecting Threads. I have often used plastic canvas to line the bottom of bags. Someone on here suggested cutting the plastic dividers from the ArtBin Super Satchels, if you have any. Almost any sheet of plastic would work, as long as you can cut it and it seems to be firm enough. Good luck with your search.

The dollar store here has flexible cutting boards that can be used in the bottoms. I bought my magnetic snaps in the bargain bins at Joann's, 12 for a dollar or two.

I have used foam board for the bottoms of my purses, I just cut a piece of the inside fabric big enough to fold over to the underside and I use the painters tape to tape it down. Once it is in the purse no one can see the bottom so I don't go to the trouble of making a "pillow case" for them. I also move them around since I have several purses from the same pattern - no one sees them so why waste the time making more bottoms.

I just saw a tip about using old cutting boards for purse bottoms - haven't tried it but I would think it would work.

Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's or Hancock's have magnetic closures for sure, and I use a heavy mat board that I get at Hobby Lobby for purse bottoms. The mat board holds up very well, but you can also get plexiglass cut to the size you want at Lowe's.

this is how i make the bottoms for my bags - have never had one sag. i insert this in a sleeve of the purse fabric

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I used a piece of clear plexie glass its a little firmer and if you get the thinner one it is easy to cut.

Diane

I haven't made any bags but did need a replacement piece for a purchased bag.

I bought a single vinyl tile at Home Depot and used a utility know to cut it to the size I needed. It's been in the bag for a year and still holding up. I use the bag for daily commuting so it's seen some action. Plus I have the rest of the tile if this one wears out.

I did find that some tiles were more flexible than others. Just kept trying until I found one as firm as I wanted.

joannshas them, you can get them online