How to press bags and pouches

A few days ago I wanted to sew a gift for a friend, but what to sew in 3 hours? A few pouches, of course!

You know I am a HUGE fan of quilted bags and pouches; if you quilt them properly, after washing, the pressing needs are minimal. If  you gift them, that’s good news for the new owner of you bags or pouches!

Since it wasn’t enough time for quilting, just fusing fusible fleece or fusible batting to fabric would have been the quickest option, but I did not have any fusible scrap left, so that I had to use the interfacing I usually use for bags – Decovil lightweight.

During the sewing, the fabric wrinkles a little and when the pouches were finished, I had to press them. I thought to share a little tip with you, for a final, good press with the iron that adds a lovely professional finishing touch to any handmade item.

How to press pouches

So here is how to do that final press.
When finishing the pouch, the last step is closing the gap in the lining; after that, pull the lining outside of the pouch, and press separately the lining and the outer pouch; use steam and a hot iron. Let the whole thing cool and then tuck the lining inside.

The result: a perfectly pressed pouch!

I love that we can use so many interfacing types, each one giving a different look and feel to the pouch; this one makes the pouch stiff and crisp.

One pouch is lovely, but how about three?

Inserting the zipper is piece of cake – click here to learn more.

But how about six pouches?

I decided the size of the pouches after measuring the smallest polka dot fabric piece, it was 9” x 12”. I ADORE sewing series of things.

Quickly sewing gifts

Working on these pretty pouches I realized that if you have these 3 things at hand, you will always be prepared to  sew a last-minute gift- quickly and easily!

1. fusible fleece/batting (or any kind of fusible interfacing); the fusible stuff makes everything quick and easy!
2. bundle of polka dot fabrics 
3. quick pouch pattern (or 2, or 3…) – see here my pouch patterns. 

How to press bags with boxed bottom

Let’s talk about pressing bags, too!
The final press applied to bags is one of the most important steps in making a bag.

Here is how to press and a give a nice shape to a bag with boxed base, only with the help of the iron.

Follow the pictures below: first, press the long edges of the base. (I forgot to pull the lining outside the bag when I took the pictures – sorry!!).

Then press the short edges.

Then press the top edges.
The side seams should be pressed well during the construction of the outside bag.

This is how I press my bags/pouches. How about you? Are there other pressing tips you use? I’ll talk about pressing bags with curved corners in another blog post.

Related pattern: Little Wonders –  Pouch Pattern

Happy sewing!