**Maximizing Scrap Fabric to Save Time and Money**

One of the most effective ways to save time and money while making handbags is by using scraps fabric creatively. Many sewists often overlook the potential of scraps, but with a little bit of imagination, they can become an integral part of a new project. The author suggests fusing these scraps together to create a solid foundation for the bag's lining or exterior. By doing so, even small gaps in the seam allowance can be eliminated, ensuring a sturdy and professional-looking finish.

To take advantage of this technique, it's essential to work from both sides of the fabric. Typically, sewists prefer to fuse interfacing pieces from the wrong side (the side opposite the fabric), which provides better support and stability for the bag's structure. However, some interfacings can only be fused from a specific side, so it's crucial to check the manufacturer's instructions before proceeding.

The author demonstrates this technique by fusing two small scraps together using a hot iron. The resulting seam is barely noticeable, showcasing the effectiveness of this method in utilizing leftover fabric scraps. By doing so, sewists can reduce waste and create a more efficient workflow, ultimately saving time and resources.

**Efficient Use of Interfacing Pieces**

When working on handbag projects, it's essential to utilize all available interfacing pieces efficiently. The author recommends tacking small pieces of interfacing together temporarily, just to hold them in place, before flipping the entire piece over to fuse from the fabric side. This approach allows sewists to work with the interfacing as needed, without wasting time or materials.

To take this technique further, the author suggests using a rotary cutter to trim away any excess fabric or interfacing that's protruding after fusing. By doing so, a smooth and even surface is achieved, ensuring a professional finish for the finished bag.

In addition to fusing small pieces together, the author also shares her experience with woven and non-woven fusible interfacings. The woven fusible interfacing, in particular, offers excellent stability and support, making it an ideal choice for projects that require structure and rigidity.

**Creative Reuse of Non-Woven Interfacing**

When working with non-woven fusible interfacings, it's essential to keep in mind their unique characteristics. These materials are typically made from synthetic products, which can only be fused from a specific side. To work effectively with these interfacings, sewists must place them on the wrong side of the fabric, ensuring that they're securely attached before fusing.

The author demonstrates this technique by placing small non-woven interfacing pieces on top of a larger piece of fabric and then fusing them together. The resulting seam is smooth and invisible, showcasing the effectiveness of using these interfacings in creative ways.

When working with non-woven interfacings, it's also crucial to avoid overlapping seams, as this can create visible ridges or seams that are difficult to conceal. By taking care to align pieces carefully and use a hot iron to fuse them together, sewists can achieve seamless results.

**Making the Most of Small Scraps**

Even small scraps can be repurposed to create a functional and professional-looking bag. The author shares her experience with cutting strips from these scraps and using them as needed in various projects. By doing so, sewists can breathe new life into materials that would otherwise go to waste.

One of the benefits of working with scrap fabric is that it allows for greater flexibility and creativity in design. By reusing leftover materials, sewists can experiment with different shapes, sizes, and textures, creating unique and personalized projects that showcase their individual style.

**Bag of the Month Club: Your Input Matters**

To help finalize the Bag of the Month Club project, the author has recently conducted a survey among her email subscribers. The responses have revealed that zippers are the top issue faced by many sewists when working on handbag projects. In response to this feedback, the author is committed to tackling zipper-related challenges in future tutorials and patterns.

Additionally, some respondents mentioned that they struggle with the cost of making handbags due to additional notions and supplies required. To address this concern, the author plans to share budget-friendly options and tips for reducing costs in upcoming Bag of the Month Club projects.

By sharing these insights and addressing common pain points, the author aims to create a supportive community where sewists can learn from one another and grow as crafters. Whether you're an experienced sewer or just starting out, the Bag of the Month Club promises to be an exciting journey filled with creative inspiration and practical advice for making beautiful handbags.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey it's Vanessa the crafty Gemini and if you're a handbag maker or you want to get into learning how to make bags and organizers keep watching this video because I'm sharing with you my money-saving tips now if you're new to my channel you may not be familiar with all the different types of video tutorials and online video courses and clubs that I run I've been running online video bag of the Month clubs for almost four years now and I'm working on the next one that's I'm getting ready to release very very soon and so I wanted to put out a survey and get your feedback hundreds of you have replied and have mentioned to me what are the main two issues that you struggle with when it comes to handbag making now a lot of us like to carry a lot of handbags but many of us also like to give them as gifts because they're not as time-consuming or maybe don't require as much money and energy as something like a quilt does right so they're kind of more instant gratification projects which we love because we can still incorporate our sewing and quilting techniques and have something functional come out of it now I have designed dozens of different handbags wallets and organizer designs over the years that I've run in my other clubs and so for this one I really wanted to tackle specific issues that my students struggle with when it comes to making handbags so in this video as I continue to prep and work for the release of my next bag of the Month Club I wanted to share with you some money saving tips if you've ever made a handbag or purchase a handbag pattern you probably were shocked the first time that you looked at the supply list right hardware sometimes to upwards of four or five different interfacing x' needed to complete the one bag so although it is a smaller project oftentimes they end up being very costly because of the specialty fabrics interfacing x' notions hardware and all that other stuff so one of the complaints that I get from a lot of my bag club students is that they spend so much time and money creating these handbags and although they do have customers who want to purchase them not a lot of people are really willing to pay what it's worth right not only the money that you have invested in the materials but also your time and expertise and so in this video for those of you that do make handbags whether you're gifting them to people and you're trying to cut back on the amount of money going into each handbag or if you're selling them and you need to cut back on costs but still present the customer with a nice professional project then I'm gonna share with you these tips that I hope come in handy tip number one has to do with the exterior fabric that you're using to create your handbags if you're using 100% quilting Cotton's to create your handbags and you're putting that fabric on the exterior you probably know that you need to back it with something some type of an interfacing whether it be a woven a nonwoven foam interfacing fusible fleece there's always something else that needs to be added to the fabric so that the bag itself has some type of a shape and structure to it and isn't quite as floppy as just the fabric itself so my tip to you is cut back on some of those additional stabilizer and interfacing costs by using a sturdier exterior fabric many of you have probably never even thought to look in the apparel or fashion fabrics section of your local fabric store now the reason I would recommend checking out those fabrics specifically is going to be for your bottom white fabrics these are fabrics that are a little bit heftier they're a little stiffer than just a plain quilting cotton and oftentimes when we're purchasing fashion fabrics they come a lot wider than a forty to forty four inch wide quilting cotton fabric so not only can you oftentimes find it for less per yard but you're also getting way more per yard because instead of stopping at about forty four inches wide many of these go up to 57 or 60 inches wide and you're also cutting out that step of having to add interfacing now granted you won't be able to pull this off with every handbag you try but some of the floppier kind of drape your bags can totally stand to use a heftier fabric that costs you less versus using a drapey ER fabric and having to add the additional cost of interfacing here I wanted to show you two samples that I use very often this is a hundred percent cotton chambray that is found in the apparel sewing section it's 100 sent cotton just like the quilting Cotton's but it has a little bit more body it's more of a medium-weight chambre so I have made plenty of bags zip pouches and things where I have not had to fuse this to anything because it has enough body all on its own so also consider like I said bottom white fabrics or like home deck weight home decor white fabrics again you can find those on sale they're oftentimes wider now here I have this kind of ikat print it's a bottom weight so a little bit thicker than just the regular kind of drape your cotton and it's a cotton linen blend with this really fun print so again I could totally make a handbag out of this without having to make it stiffer right by keeping it just as is and you can see it has some drape to it but it also has a lot more body than a quilting cotton now here have another sample for you and this is a cotton canvas that can oftentimes be found in the home decor section of your local fabric store this is super popular for a ton of handbags project bags organizers and things like that because the fabric weight on its own is plenty to give enough shape and kind of contain whatever it is that you're making to hold right that the bag is going to be holding inside this stuff oftentimes again is wider than a designer quality quilting cotton and a lot less expensive than designer quality cotton as well now for money-saving tip number two this has to do with the inside of the bag so if you're working on a pattern that calls for something to add a little body to the handbag something like a batting a foam interfacing or a fusible fleece something like that that adds a little bit more bulk and body to it there is a super affordable option that you can use instead now here I have two different products for you this one here is a double sided fusible fleece product that is oftentimes only found at independent quilt shops so you already know it's a higher quality product this piece here will run you about eighteen dollars and you can make several bags depending on the size then what I have here you can see very similar in weight and body and drape and although it's not fusible way way less expensive at only several dollars per yard whereas this is not even full full yard and it cost you $18 what I have here is post-consumer recycled felt so a great option if you're making things in bulk if you're giving things in as gifts and you have to make a lot of something and you're trying to cut back on the costs this felt is great okay it's not fusible but if you join my clubs in classes you know that I shared tons of tips and tricks on how to go about adhering right the layers of your handbagg projects so it doesn't matter if you're using something that's a sew-in like this would be or something that's a fusible I always share tips with you on how to use both but I did want to show you how they're similar in weight and you can see how they can be used interchangeably in different bag projects one is a lot more affordable than the other so consider felt post-consumer recycled felt the next time that you're looking for that inside layer of your handbagg projects and money saving tip number three is save those scraps especially the interfacing scraps when we're making bags that there's just no other way around it you have to use the specific interfacing or stabilizers for save them let me show you how you can combine scrap pieces to carry them over to a future project so you don't have to throw those away and buy a whole new pack so here's one thing I love to do I have a fabric piece here based on whatever shape the template calls for and I save my woven fusible interfacing pieces if you've made any handbags you've seen this stuff come up before it's most often fused to the wrong side of your fabric and often you'll see it called for in the lining pieces but there's also patterns where the exterior fabric gets fused to this stuff what I find is that my students will understand okay we take little chunks of this and we're kind of filling it up in a jigsaw puzzle form what you want to avoid is this the overlapping because this by itself is about the weight of a quilting cotton with some fusible on the other side if I overlap them now I'm adding two more layers and you most likely depending on the fabric you're using will be able to feel a little rich there where they overlap where it goes from doubled up to the other single layer side so what I like to recommend is if you are gonna use scraps just bump them up as close as you can get them a lot of my beginner students especially we'll freak out because they're like I'm missing a piece here I'm missing some here and I'm missing some on the side this is just an additional layer fabric that we're adding to the exterior whatever lining piece this is to give it a little bit more smoothness crispness and body to it you don't have to cover every single little bit of it okay this is why the scraps come in really handy because even if I put five or seven pieces on here of scraps it's still overall going to achieve what I need it to do so like this piece here I have this scrap piece and if this was on the cutting mat I would probably just take the rotary cutter to it but if not you can just eyeball it it's just roughly cover it okay that will be plenty for me you know you don't have to worry about every single little teensy bit but do try to cover up as much as you can and that's why you're able to use the scraps because they come in really handy now you always want a fuse from the fabric side so oftentimes I will just tack these interfacing pieces a little bit at a time just to kind of hold them in place and then I'll flip my entire piece over and properly kind of more accurately prf use it from the fabric side then of course you'd go back with your scissors or rotary cutter and trim away any little bits that are sticking out but I'm gonna fuse this so that you can see hopefully on camera that where there are little gaps nobody's gonna see that if you fuse it properly it will still work and it's a great way to use up your scraps and still continue to use those bits in future bag projects all right so there's this one fully fused and even if there's like a little bit in the middle here this is a lining piece it's gonna have a zippered pocket placed over top of it so things like that anticipate what else is going on top whether you left maybe some out in the seam allowances that's fine because that doesn't even need to be in the finished thing it gets caught up in the seam allowance so don't feel like it needs to be covered from corner to corner the entire thing you can see that the whole thing has that added body that we needed and it's still gonna work just fine in your bag project so don't throw away those scraps and use them efficiently now here's another sample that's a popular one the woven fusible interfacing but here is a non woven piece now this is not big enough to really use in say a strap or some type of a bag project but if I have a piece like this I don't really care too much the shape I'm just gonna go like this cut the piece I need okay and then I can use this piece up top here so just use your fabric pieces as the template and reuse those scraps and right there I've used one strip that I couldn't really do much with but now it's gonna be perfect to bump up here remember don't overlap them especially once you start using those thicker interfacing because it will be very obvious so look at that boom boom that's a perfect way to use up that little strip this is a non woven interfacing so remember if they're non woven they're made of a synthetic product so you're not gonna want to fuse from that side I want to place them like this make sure those pieces are bumped up closely look at that I can't even see where they meet with my fingers I don't even feel the ridge I don't even feel the separation because they're bumped up perfectly and once you have it in place go ahead and fuse it nobody will ever know that those were two separate pieces and you don't have to waste your money just because you have little off cuts and scraps left from other projects so that's that looks great and then these little bits obviously are trash but like this chunk even though it's small and kind of odd shaped save it because you can always cut a strip and fuse it to one piece then grab another and fill in so scraps like this size are bigger I definitely say so there you have it three money-saving tips that you can apply right now if you're working on handbag projects now I recently went ahead and put out a survey to my email newsletter subscribers to help me put the finishing touches on the new bag of the Month Club that I'm almost ready to release now the question was what are the top two issues that you struggle with the most when it comes to making handbags now I went through the results already so far but I'm still gathering the data so if you want to go ahead and help us out fill out the survey I'll include it for you in the description box below but from the information I've gathered already over 250 responses mention zippers as their number one issue so if that's you in that world also who has trouble inserting zippers in their handbags I'm so glad that you're watching this video and I hope that you'll stick around because in the new bag club we are definitely going to tackle some zippers and if you're someone that thinks that it is too expensive to make handbags because of all the additional costs and notions and supplies that you need definitely stick around because in my new bag club I will be sharing with you multiple options we will be talking about port fabric and leather and pleather if you want to go those routes but we will also be talking about some very budget-friendly options that will allow you to save time and money if you're someone who just wants some quick projects or if you're looking to increase your profit margin because you sell handbags as a business so that's it for now thanks again for watching and I will see you in the next video bye youhey it's Vanessa the crafty Gemini and if you're a handbag maker or you want to get into learning how to make bags and organizers keep watching this video because I'm sharing with you my money-saving tips now if you're new to my channel you may not be familiar with all the different types of video tutorials and online video courses and clubs that I run I've been running online video bag of the Month clubs for almost four years now and I'm working on the next one that's I'm getting ready to release very very soon and so I wanted to put out a survey and get your feedback hundreds of you have replied and have mentioned to me what are the main two issues that you struggle with when it comes to handbag making now a lot of us like to carry a lot of handbags but many of us also like to give them as gifts because they're not as time-consuming or maybe don't require as much money and energy as something like a quilt does right so they're kind of more instant gratification projects which we love because we can still incorporate our sewing and quilting techniques and have something functional come out of it now I have designed dozens of different handbags wallets and organizer designs over the years that I've run in my other clubs and so for this one I really wanted to tackle specific issues that my students struggle with when it comes to making handbags so in this video as I continue to prep and work for the release of my next bag of the Month Club I wanted to share with you some money saving tips if you've ever made a handbag or purchase a handbag pattern you probably were shocked the first time that you looked at the supply list right hardware sometimes to upwards of four or five different interfacing x' needed to complete the one bag so although it is a smaller project oftentimes they end up being very costly because of the specialty fabrics interfacing x' notions hardware and all that other stuff so one of the complaints that I get from a lot of my bag club students is that they spend so much time and money creating these handbags and although they do have customers who want to purchase them not a lot of people are really willing to pay what it's worth right not only the money that you have invested in the materials but also your time and expertise and so in this video for those of you that do make handbags whether you're gifting them to people and you're trying to cut back on the amount of money going into each handbag or if you're selling them and you need to cut back on costs but still present the customer with a nice professional project then I'm gonna share with you these tips that I hope come in handy tip number one has to do with the exterior fabric that you're using to create your handbags if you're using 100% quilting Cotton's to create your handbags and you're putting that fabric on the exterior you probably know that you need to back it with something some type of an interfacing whether it be a woven a nonwoven foam interfacing fusible fleece there's always something else that needs to be added to the fabric so that the bag itself has some type of a shape and structure to it and isn't quite as floppy as just the fabric itself so my tip to you is cut back on some of those additional stabilizer and interfacing costs by using a sturdier exterior fabric many of you have probably never even thought to look in the apparel or fashion fabrics section of your local fabric store now the reason I would recommend checking out those fabrics specifically is going to be for your bottom white fabrics these are fabrics that are a little bit heftier they're a little stiffer than just a plain quilting cotton and oftentimes when we're purchasing fashion fabrics they come a lot wider than a forty to forty four inch wide quilting cotton fabric so not only can you oftentimes find it for less per yard but you're also getting way more per yard because instead of stopping at about forty four inches wide many of these go up to 57 or 60 inches wide and you're also cutting out that step of having to add interfacing now granted you won't be able to pull this off with every handbag you try but some of the floppier kind of drape your bags can totally stand to use a heftier fabric that costs you less versus using a drapey ER fabric and having to add the additional cost of interfacing here I wanted to show you two samples that I use very often this is a hundred percent cotton chambray that is found in the apparel sewing section it's 100 sent cotton just like the quilting Cotton's but it has a little bit more body it's more of a medium-weight chambre so I have made plenty of bags zip pouches and things where I have not had to fuse this to anything because it has enough body all on its own so also consider like I said bottom white fabrics or like home deck weight home decor white fabrics again you can find those on sale they're oftentimes wider now here I have this kind of ikat print it's a bottom weight so a little bit thicker than just the regular kind of drape your cotton and it's a cotton linen blend with this really fun print so again I could totally make a handbag out of this without having to make it stiffer right by keeping it just as is and you can see it has some drape to it but it also has a lot more body than a quilting cotton now here have another sample for you and this is a cotton canvas that can oftentimes be found in the home decor section of your local fabric store this is super popular for a ton of handbags project bags organizers and things like that because the fabric weight on its own is plenty to give enough shape and kind of contain whatever it is that you're making to hold right that the bag is going to be holding inside this stuff oftentimes again is wider than a designer quality quilting cotton and a lot less expensive than designer quality cotton as well now for money-saving tip number two this has to do with the inside of the bag so if you're working on a pattern that calls for something to add a little body to the handbag something like a batting a foam interfacing or a fusible fleece something like that that adds a little bit more bulk and body to it there is a super affordable option that you can use instead now here I have two different products for you this one here is a double sided fusible fleece product that is oftentimes only found at independent quilt shops so you already know it's a higher quality product this piece here will run you about eighteen dollars and you can make several bags depending on the size then what I have here you can see very similar in weight and body and drape and although it's not fusible way way less expensive at only several dollars per yard whereas this is not even full full yard and it cost you $18 what I have here is post-consumer recycled felt so a great option if you're making things in bulk if you're giving things in as gifts and you have to make a lot of something and you're trying to cut back on the costs this felt is great okay it's not fusible but if you join my clubs in classes you know that I shared tons of tips and tricks on how to go about adhering right the layers of your handbagg projects so it doesn't matter if you're using something that's a sew-in like this would be or something that's a fusible I always share tips with you on how to use both but I did want to show you how they're similar in weight and you can see how they can be used interchangeably in different bag projects one is a lot more affordable than the other so consider felt post-consumer recycled felt the next time that you're looking for that inside layer of your handbagg projects and money saving tip number three is save those scraps especially the interfacing scraps when we're making bags that there's just no other way around it you have to use the specific interfacing or stabilizers for save them let me show you how you can combine scrap pieces to carry them over to a future project so you don't have to throw those away and buy a whole new pack so here's one thing I love to do I have a fabric piece here based on whatever shape the template calls for and I save my woven fusible interfacing pieces if you've made any handbags you've seen this stuff come up before it's most often fused to the wrong side of your fabric and often you'll see it called for in the lining pieces but there's also patterns where the exterior fabric gets fused to this stuff what I find is that my students will understand okay we take little chunks of this and we're kind of filling it up in a jigsaw puzzle form what you want to avoid is this the overlapping because this by itself is about the weight of a quilting cotton with some fusible on the other side if I overlap them now I'm adding two more layers and you most likely depending on the fabric you're using will be able to feel a little rich there where they overlap where it goes from doubled up to the other single layer side so what I like to recommend is if you are gonna use scraps just bump them up as close as you can get them a lot of my beginner students especially we'll freak out because they're like I'm missing a piece here I'm missing some here and I'm missing some on the side this is just an additional layer fabric that we're adding to the exterior whatever lining piece this is to give it a little bit more smoothness crispness and body to it you don't have to cover every single little bit of it okay this is why the scraps come in really handy because even if I put five or seven pieces on here of scraps it's still overall going to achieve what I need it to do so like this piece here I have this scrap piece and if this was on the cutting mat I would probably just take the rotary cutter to it but if not you can just eyeball it it's just roughly cover it okay that will be plenty for me you know you don't have to worry about every single little teensy bit but do try to cover up as much as you can and that's why you're able to use the scraps because they come in really handy now you always want a fuse from the fabric side so oftentimes I will just tack these interfacing pieces a little bit at a time just to kind of hold them in place and then I'll flip my entire piece over and properly kind of more accurately prf use it from the fabric side then of course you'd go back with your scissors or rotary cutter and trim away any little bits that are sticking out but I'm gonna fuse this so that you can see hopefully on camera that where there are little gaps nobody's gonna see that if you fuse it properly it will still work and it's a great way to use up your scraps and still continue to use those bits in future bag projects all right so there's this one fully fused and even if there's like a little bit in the middle here this is a lining piece it's gonna have a zippered pocket placed over top of it so things like that anticipate what else is going on top whether you left maybe some out in the seam allowances that's fine because that doesn't even need to be in the finished thing it gets caught up in the seam allowance so don't feel like it needs to be covered from corner to corner the entire thing you can see that the whole thing has that added body that we needed and it's still gonna work just fine in your bag project so don't throw away those scraps and use them efficiently now here's another sample that's a popular one the woven fusible interfacing but here is a non woven piece now this is not big enough to really use in say a strap or some type of a bag project but if I have a piece like this I don't really care too much the shape I'm just gonna go like this cut the piece I need okay and then I can use this piece up top here so just use your fabric pieces as the template and reuse those scraps and right there I've used one strip that I couldn't really do much with but now it's gonna be perfect to bump up here remember don't overlap them especially once you start using those thicker interfacing because it will be very obvious so look at that boom boom that's a perfect way to use up that little strip this is a non woven interfacing so remember if they're non woven they're made of a synthetic product so you're not gonna want to fuse from that side I want to place them like this make sure those pieces are bumped up closely look at that I can't even see where they meet with my fingers I don't even feel the ridge I don't even feel the separation because they're bumped up perfectly and once you have it in place go ahead and fuse it nobody will ever know that those were two separate pieces and you don't have to waste your money just because you have little off cuts and scraps left from other projects so that's that looks great and then these little bits obviously are trash but like this chunk even though it's small and kind of odd shaped save it because you can always cut a strip and fuse it to one piece then grab another and fill in so scraps like this size are bigger I definitely say so there you have it three money-saving tips that you can apply right now if you're working on handbag projects now I recently went ahead and put out a survey to my email newsletter subscribers to help me put the finishing touches on the new bag of the Month Club that I'm almost ready to release now the question was what are the top two issues that you struggle with the most when it comes to making handbags now I went through the results already so far but I'm still gathering the data so if you want to go ahead and help us out fill out the survey I'll include it for you in the description box below but from the information I've gathered already over 250 responses mention zippers as their number one issue so if that's you in that world also who has trouble inserting zippers in their handbags I'm so glad that you're watching this video and I hope that you'll stick around because in the new bag club we are definitely going to tackle some zippers and if you're someone that thinks that it is too expensive to make handbags because of all the additional costs and notions and supplies that you need definitely stick around because in my new bag club I will be sharing with you multiple options we will be talking about port fabric and leather and pleather if you want to go those routes but we will also be talking about some very budget-friendly options that will allow you to save time and money if you're someone who just wants some quick projects or if you're looking to increase your profit margin because you sell handbags as a business so that's it for now thanks again for watching and I will see you in the next video bye you\n"