Bag Sewing Made Easy: The Ultimate Interfacing Guide Every Bag Maker Needs

Looking to give your handmade bags a polished, high-quality look? INTERFACING makes all the difference!

I made my first bag back in 2007, and it was a failure. I used a pricey rainbow fusible tape and thin batting, but the result was a floppy bag that I never used. I was so disappointed, I didn’t make another bag for two years.
The problem? I didn’t use the right interfacing.

Why Interfacing Matters in Bag Making
If you’ve ever finished a bag that turned out floppy or didn’t hold its shape quite right, chances are the interfacing wasn’t the best fit for the project. The right interfacing transforms a homemade bag into a polished, professional-quality piece.

I’ve written quite a bit about interfacing over the years—take a look at the posts below for more insights, tips, and a breakdown of interfacing types and uses:

Best Interfacing for Bags
My favorite interfacing for pouches

There is a lot of valuable information in these blog posts and many others, but now, I’ve taken everything I’ve learned and put it into one detailed, downloadable guide that goes even deeper.

This free, easy-to-follow guide includes:

✅ A curated list of the best interfacing products
Discover my personal favorites for everything from soft purses to structured large bags.
✅ The difference between interfacing, interlining, and stabilizers
Understand the role of each and how they affect your finished bag.
✅ Tips on layering interfacing
Learn how to build structure by combining types and brands.
✅ Fabric and interfacing pairing advice
Make sure your fabric and interfacing are a match made in heaven, not a sewing headache.
✅ What to do when your favorite interfacing is not available to you
Smart substitutions that still give beautiful results.

Bag Sewing Doesn’t Have to Be Confusing

Many of us have learned bag-making through trial and error, but mistakes can be costly and discouraging. My mission is to take the guesswork out of interfacing so you can spend more time enjoying the creative process. This guide was created to save you time, money, and frustration.

Grab Your Free Copy Today

Whether you’re a beginner or experienced sewist, this guide will be a game-changer. No more second-guessing at the fabric store or wondering why your bag doesn’t look quite right.

The guide mentions many interfacing types, but in this post, I’ll focus on the ones I use frequently and share some pictures to illustrate how different types of interfacing affect the look and feel of a bag.

1. Fusible Fleece

Fusible fleece paired with quilt-weight fabric.

2. Thermolam

Thermolam is paired with quilt-weight fabric.

Thermolam is paired with quilt-weight fabric, and the bag panels are quilted.

3. Pellon Peltex

Peltex is fused to quilt-weight fabric and then quilted.

4. Decovil Light

Decovil light and quilt-weight fabric.

Decovil light pairs even better with heavyweight cotton.

4. Heavyweight Decovil

Heavyweight Decovil fused on quilt-weight fabric.

5. Foam

Foam fused on quilt-weight fabric.

The same combination, but the bag panels are quilted.

A patchwork piece quilted on foam.

How cute are these mini-bags, quilted on foam?

6. Batting

Batting can also be used successfully, and the fleece-like batting is the best, but any type works.
You have to quilt the panels, and depending on the weight of your fabric, you may need to add a backing to the quilted panel (lightweight fabric or heavyweight fabric).

Quilt-weight fabric quilted on batting

Love one of these bags? The patterns I used are available in my shop if you’d like to try them yourself.

Happy Sewing,
Geta