BFF Bag Materials
I'm just a gal standing in front on her fabric stash, asking it to turn into clothes. And occasionally, a handbag. So, I imagine if you’re reading this, you’re probably a lot like me. You sew your own clothes and you’ve got a…collection…of supplies. You also probably have a love/hate relationship with social media. (Sounds like a big topic for another series, Loni.)
The BFF Bag. I created it from my vantage, a hobby garment-sewer’s perspective. In all likelihood, you have nearly everything you need to make one already on hand. That is, with the exception of the specific bag hardware. I just wanted to delve into the materials a bit more here than I was able to in the pattern. I’ll share a few sources, tips, and other thoughts as well.
fabric
The fabric the world gets to see is the main fabric; also referred to as outside or exterior. We want a sturdy, durable material here. The fabrics you would think of using to make “hard pants” are good choices; rigid denims and twills, canvas (we see you Rifle Paper Co. and Ruby Star) and waxed canvas. Other stash finds such as quilted wovens, home dec, linen, and wool are great options as well. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s medium to heavy weight (think 8oz or more). And if you’re dying to use something with a little less oomph, it’s going to need some help standing up the the challenge. (See interfacing.)
Everything inside the bag is referred to as lining, or accent (which is really just lining, but another color), fabric. All that quilting cotton you bought before you learned it wasn’t the only fabric choice the world had to offer can be used for bag linings. If you have lighter-weight cottons, such as lawn, voile, or shirtings, that’s fine too! Use what you’ve got before buying new. (Yes, it’s easier said than done.)
You won’t need much of the main and lining, accent fabrics. You probably have enough left over from other projects. Raid that scrap pile/bin/box/mountain. A fat quarter (18” x21”) will do for the exterior if directionality isn’t an issue. Most of the pieces are under 12” on their longest side. There’s a lot of pockets inside, so you’ll need a bit more for the lining, but still 1/3-1/2 yard is plenty.
Interfacing
I feel like there is probably a huge reference manual on interfacing, or at least there ought to be. It’s one of the most mystifying subjects in home sewing. There’s a lot of options and brands, plus the same “product” may have alternate names and can vary by location.
For the BFF Bag, I recommend a fusible woven interfacing (ie Pellon’s SF101/ShapeFlex), and again you won’t need much. In fact, I only think it’s necessary on one half of the interior slip pocket. Every part of the BFF Bag ultimately becomes incorporated into the two main seams joining the middle panel, which, in turn, are bound. It becomes a rather solid unit. (Innuendos flying.) All to say, you might be surprised how sturdy this small bag is without adding a lot of interfacing. Of course, it’s ultimately the maker’s choice and we all develop personal preferences. You do you!
If you desire a more structured bag or want to use an alternative interfacing strategy, consider how many layers (and their thickness’) are being added to the seams. Cutting fusible interfacing with the seam allowance removed can help balance the forces.
(Quick bag interfacing overview.)
Webbing
Webbing, belting, strapping. These are typically woven or braided tightly from multiple fibers (of various content), available in standard widths, and purchased by the length. As the BFF Bag is rather small, I call for 1” wide straps. The next common size is 1.5” wide, though I found it a bit too wide for my liking. The webbing width also affects the hardware specifications. Perhaps 1.25” wide would be the ideal baby bear width, but it’s not a width I’ve seen available to consumers like us. If you want a wider strap, simply source the hardware in the same width. There seem to be more decorative options in the 1.5” width.
small assortment of webbing and a short leather strap
Nylon webbing tends to be thinner and slide more smoothly through a slider, but it may have a shiny/athletic look. I personally prefer cotton webbing.
I’ve purchased webbing from SewToSpeak (Ohio), MJTrimming (NYC garment district, irl, website selection is minimal), StyleMaker, and WAWAK and can attest to their quality. I also recently succumbed to the siren call of the bag supplies at ZipperValley (Canada). (Another option, as mentioned and explained in the pattern, is to make your own straps from fabric instead of sourcing webbing.)
I say you’ll need 1-2 yards of webbing because the length is entirely dependent on who the bag is made for. You’ll use your body measurement (crossbody circumference) as the basis for the adjustable strap’s length.
Zippers
Oh, boy this is another topic one could write a book on. Zippers can also be intimidating, like all things sewing! They don’t have to be scary though (like tits or spiders)!
YKK has a beautiful Zippers 101 PDF you might also enjoy geeking out over.
Again, we have a lot of choices for zippers and almost any non-separating zipper will do. (Not you, Invisible, you’re just not on the radar at all.) Metal and nylon coil varieties are common. And you might even have some in your stash.
left to right- metal/pants zipper, nylon coil bag zipper (head to head pulls), zipper by the yard with loose pull.
I like metal zippers because they are sturdy, shiny, and relatively easy to shorten.
The advantage of a nylon coil zipper is that one can sew right over the coil without fear of breaking a needle. (One’s needle can break if it finds the pull or bottom stop as those are metal parts. So keep track of those.) The nylon coil head to head bag zippers are currently my favorite and most affordable choice for making the BFF. One zipper (>26”) actually covers both the main and interior zipper requirements when you cut the zipper in half since there are two pulls.
Zippers by the yard are popular in bag-making and seem to have exploded in the past five or six years. By exploded, I mean the variety of tape colors and designs crossed with the numerous metallic coil finishes are astounding. These are typically sold in 1 or 3 yard lengths and often require separately purchased pulls. (By glob there are a lot of fancy pull choices out there too.) These zippers give the maker complete control over the length of zipper as they are easily cut to any length.
Wawak has a wide variety of bag-making zippers and offers very fast shipping. If you have a local retailer, though, support them first, of course!
Hardware
I chose a very simple scheme for the BFF Bag hardware. This was in part to keep materials cost low and for utility purposes. The crossbody style slips over the head and shoulder easily. To fit at the waist, the strap needs to shorten via the slider and release (swivel clasp and D ring). A side release buckle could be substituted (but I find these are difficult to source in good quality and in any other material than plastic).
I apologize for not have a pretty picture of the a full set of the required hardware. Fact is I used all mine making samples, testing features, and trialing multiple construction methods. I’ll get one added as soon as I’m properly restocked on hardware.
various random hardware
Rings can come in a few different shapes, such as tringle, rectangle, or round. D rings are most common. Metallic finish options are typically gold, antique/bronze/brass, silver/chrome, gunmetal, black, rose gold and rainbow. Bag hardware is often sold in paired sets or even number quantities. That means you might find yourself with enough hardware to make a second BFF or you can split the purchase with a friend.
a handful of snap types, clockwise from upper left- long prong snap (SnapSource, discontinued?), heavy duty (Dritz, not a fan), spring snap set, magnetic bag snap set.
Lastly, you’ll need a snap for the outer pocket. You might be familiar with and have some prong snaps in your stash if you’ve made clothing for the little folks in your life; or you may have used heavy duty/jacket snaps for outerwear. As only one snap is necessary, use what your stash provides, but know that snaps designed for bags be they magnetic or otherwise is preferred. I’m out of these snaps sourced from StyleMaker previously, but they are great quality.
As always, if you have any questions, I’m happy to talk shop. This post was meant to supplement the pattern and share my experience and trusted sources. I’m not familiar with bag material suppliers outside the US, but if you’d like to leave some options in the comments, I trust many other folks will appreciate that input!
So, hey, I’m not a pattern designer, I just play one on Instagram. I don’t have plans for any other patterns, bags or otherwise. This bag was created with specific features to meet my needs. I got a lot of positive feedback and pattern requests from folks saying it was just what they wanted as well. It felt good to put the design in a format to share with the world. To me, it’s the Best Fucking Fanny.
