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She has a lot of good info for me!

Sewing With Nancy Has free videos at her site that are very good on making bags kenmoregal. Just google her name and it will bring up her site.

Thanks Red. I'll do that!

I decided to watch more videos before I began sewing. I saw one which taught how to add the zipper after the bag is done. That sounds like a good idea to me. It's the method where you put fabric on the sides of the zipper and then attach that fabric to the bag.

That way I can make the bag they way I want, with the side mounted single shoulder strap and then add the zipper afterwards.

We'll see how that goes!!

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

I made this bag and added the zipper after the bag was complete. I believe that's how I started making these bags but along the way I changed my technique and tried to add the zipper as part of the general construction. That was not easy to do! So I'm back to where I started and I'm happy enough with the results. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to this point! Watching the videos was a big help as was all the advice.

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Love your bag it is so cute. I love making bags and wallets when I'm not quilting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenmoreGal2 (Post 7811503)

I'm making bags with a zipper closure at the top. The picture below is how the handles are attached, I think that's the most common way. I'd like to make a similar, smaller bag but have just one long shoulder strap attached to the bag at the edges as opposed to the front and back. How do I do such a thing? With this method, I can't see a way to stick the handles in the sides of the bag as I'm sewing up the sides. Am I missing something obvious? Thanks.

Oh, I've checked online tutes and patterns but didn't find an answer. I saw a bag with loops sewn into the side seam near the top and the handle was attached to that loop with a metal ring. Most of the other bags I saw had the zipper installed differently. There was fabric sewn to the sides of the zipper and that fabric was attached to the bag. The zipper was kind of set into the bag instead of being on the top. Is that what I have to do for a shoulder strap?

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Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs had a lot of extra instruction on bag making on her website. Perhaps you can find some answers there. Joan Hawley often appeared on Kaye Woods' TV program. Seems that her speciality was bag making.

KenmoreGal2: It looks like there should be a band to attach the straps then zipper. I make tons of bags/tote bags and I have never done this. Doing it this way is going to cause stress on the zipper and tear with much use.

an old trick I learned years ago,(I'm a retired tailor)where the fabric is really thick, take a hammer and flatten out just the area where your going to sew @ the straps. also works great on hemming that seam area on jeans. I have a small block of wood I keep in my sewing supplies, just for this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbfrog (Post 7812535)

Thanks for your reply. I want to make a sturdy bag. I'm sorry but I don't really understand what you were saying is missing. Can you please elaborate? Thank you.