Sewing A Little Suitcase from Laminate Fabric
Why should you sew with laminated fabric? It is sturdy and often doesn’t need the interfacing and stabilizers that patterns call for. It is also much more durable and easy to wipe off than regular cotton. This laminate fabric came from laminates.etsy.com (Deborah has an awesome selection). When I received it I loved it so much I knew that I had to make something special. That’s why I decided to make a little suitcase.
I also used this fabric to sew some Boxy Zipper Pouches from a free pattern.
This is the ‘Honeymooner Suitcase’ from Sara Lawson’s new book Big City Bags. I wrote a book review about it here. Isn’t it cute the way that it zips open all the way? The inside seams area finished with bias trim.
The outside seams feature piping which I would totally love if the book asked for store-bought piping. It tells you to make your own using the bias trim that you’ll also use on the inside. I just don’t think my home-made piping gives the professional finish that I’d like.
I do have to warn you that attempting an intermediate level bag like this with laminate fabric does make it a bit trickier, but it was certainly doable using Deborah’s tips for working with laminate fabric here. I didn’t use stabilizer with the laminate exterior layer, just medium weight fusible interfacing on the inside lining.
The small suitcase was a present for my daughter Chloe which she brought with us last week when we drove up to Tennessee on a little family vacation. My Floridian kids were dying to see snow for the first time. The weather happily obliged.
Cadie made good use of her wool mittens in sub-freezing weather almost every day. The girls’ DIY mittens {tutorial here} were much warmer than the boys store bought ones. 🙂
More about our vacation coming soon… happy Monday!
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Love your suitcase. We must be in sync, I was taking a break from cutting the same fabric to make another Sara Lawson bag when I saw your post 🙂
Are you serious? That’s too funny. I love Sara’s bags!
I’m a newbie beginner visual sewer and I’m dying to make a cute suitcase like this. I need a step by step tutorial in making this bag especially that zipper. Thanks!