Upsizing the Mia Bag with Jessica Barrera

Hi everybody. I'm Natalie with Missouri Star Quilt Company and I'm joined by Jess from Sally Tomato today and we have a fun tutorial. We're going to be talking about bag making and all the creative things you can do. Yeah. So, we're going to be talking about the Mia bag and tips for upsizing and downsizing a variety of bags. Cool. [music] All right. So, I understand you've been making bags for several years. When did you get started with this? So, I've been sewing all my life. My mom taught me and I grew up working in a quilt store. And that's when it comes to bag making. I am mostly self-taught and I mostly started bag making in high school and just reading lots of books and patterns and learning different techniques, trying different materials and things. So, it it really got me hooked to play with the different materials and the hardware and the zippers to make something functional. And there's so many different shapes and pockets. And there are I've seen so many beautiful bags and and quilters especially will come into retreats with these very complicated like a million different pockets and zippers and spaces for all these things and I think they're amazing, but I I personally have been very intimidated by like the finishing and the hardware and you know how to make it just exactly what I'm looking for. So, um I've made a lot of like tote bags or little like anything that doesn't have a zipper. [laughter] Zippers have always intimidated me a lot and so I'm excited for your tips and tricks about those kinds of things. And then also customizations cuz a lot of times I look through all the patterns and they're all pretty good but not exactly what I'm looking for. So, I'm really excited for all of your tips and tricks today. I can't wait to see what we're going to talk about. Yeah. Well, the Mia bag is a great place to start. And this is the that's the original original that we worked on together. And we have a tutorial step by step how to make that entire project. But we I have heard um requests for a larger size cuz sometimes you want to fit a little bit more or um you need space for a laptop bag and the simplicity of the MIA is great and everybody has loved it. It has been so much fun. But then um we developed a new pattern. Um so we've already gone ahead and done the math to upsize the Mia to create a handbag size and then a tote bag size. But I'd love to share some tips too just for generally how to upsize patterns and downsize them because yeah a lot of times you want a different strap style or add different handles, right? Do you need like a clutch or you know the the kind what do you call it when you have handles? handbag or Yeah. or like a cross body or somebody just wants to have it on one shoulder. I have these like chronically sloping shoulders, so if I put a purse on my shoulder, it slides off. [laughter] So, I don't know if that's like common, but I love a cross body because then it stays put. Mhm. So, and I have been searching for the perfect work bag. I the totes are just they're either too narrow or they don't have a pocket for my laptop, which I don't want it like flopping around inside. And I want a little bit of padding. You know, I'm very kind of particular and so right now I'm just carrying like a backpack that was actually a diaper bag. [laughter] Sure. You know, it's just like it's it's made do for the past few years, but I would love to make something custom for myself. So, this sounds perfect. And that's so special like um that we sew and we can create something custom that works best for us. So, and yeah, hopefully this will be a really good solution and option and give you lots of ideas. I'm going to try it out to upgrade that bag for the perfect work tote. All right. So, with this new um project, we have some fresh limited edition kits for the Mia since it has been so popular. So, that's really fun. Perfect. And then to make it easy, we also made kits for the Clarice. So, the upsized version. So, that's the new name of the not the new name, but the name of the new pattern, right? The the bigger pattern size is called Clarice. Perfect. Yes. Awesome. So, here are the kit supplies. And we love putting together kits. So, we make sure that you have all the essentials to make the project. So, this kit includes enough that you could make either the tote size or the handbag. So, there's plenty of materials in there. It comes with some air mesh. And this is like a foam stabilizer that helps add some structure to the project. It comes with a cotton fabric for the exterior. and some for the lining along with contrast. This is a faux leather so you have enough for the base accent and the straps. It's also used on the zipper tab pieces. It comes with some of our faux metal zippers. So, these have a nylon coil that has um some of them have a metallic finish to coordinate with the metal hardware. So, then everything matches. I love that you'll have everything you need to make the bag and you don't have to worry about missing a piece. Yes. Yeah. All the essentials are already picked. A lot of times it's, you know, trying to hunt down the hardware and the specific zipper. Um, and the stabilizers too can be a daunting very confusing. I know whenever I whenever I'm looking for a stabilizer cuz I I use it for different reasons, you know, whether I'm like doing applique or lining a t-shirt quilt, I get very confused very quickly about what all of these things are for and what they mean. So, this is great. That's what's so great about having a kit with everything all pre-selected and ready to sew. Yes. Great. So, I'm going to set these pieces aside. And first I'd like to kind of talk about how to resize patterns. So I have some pattern pieces with me. I'm going to grab Okay, that part seems a little bit intimidating. Resizing [laughter] patterns. I feel like if any pattern to resize, it's almost like you're kind of writing your own pattern. So are there like really easy things to do? Yes. So for resizing I have about I have three basic methods. Okay. Um so I'll cover each of those. And the first one is printing the pattern pieces at a larger percentage or making a photocopy if you have a paper pattern that oh my gosh that is so smart. That's like mind-blowingly simple but so I love that. Oh thanks. I never would have even thought to do that but with digital patterns you totally could. Yes. Yes. Great. Um, and if you have no idea where to begin with what percentage to print at, because normally when you you print a PDF pattern or you have your paper copy, it's at 100% or actual size. Um, so that's what this one is. And this is a different pattern. It's for a little coin pouch, but um, I thought this piece was easier to fit on one page. Yeah, exactly. So, um, to test to see what size you would want, I would recommend to look at the finished dimensions of your pattern that you're working with, okay? and multiply that by either 150% or 200% which would be doubled and see the final dimensions what the final dimensions would be because then you know okay I I want it to finish at this size so I'll need to print at this scale um so I printed at 200% to double the size of the project and um so I have the pieces all scaled proportionally for this specific coin pouch one. So, so if I understand, you're saying like say this coin purse measures like 4 in long on on one side. If you wanted it to measure 8 in, then you would take it from 100% to 200% and then print and see if that came out. Yes. Okay. See, you got it. That makes sense. [laughter] I love that. That's so smart. So that technique works well when you have pattern pieces on on your instructions, but oftent times patterns will will include some measure and cut dimensions and those will need to be recalculated separately. But I have a a tip for that um as part of my third method later on. So perfect. That's the first method, just scaling at a larger print size. All right. So then the next technique is using grid paper and I have the same little coin pouch pattern. Okay, since it's a a really small one that it's just easy to show. So this is the Sylvia coin pouch and it's really cute, isn't it? It's a fun It's a quick little project. Um so I've traced or I've cut out the pattern piece. Mhm. And traced it onto tracing paper. And this is going to help us um transfer it onto our grid and make sure that we save our original copy. Okay, so here I have a few different grid papers, which is great because I actually have struggled to find good graph paper that's printable and to know what sizes they actually are. Sometimes you you look for graph paper online and wanted I just wanted to print off a page for one little small project couldn't find it. So I'm glad to know this is on your site. That's awesome. Yes. Yeah, this is a free download that we have. And so I recommend starting with the quarterinch grid when you want to size your pattern up. And using these two grids would essentially double the measurements or the dimensions of the pattern piece. Okay. Um do you have other sizes? Quarter and half. Does it get bigger like one inch or do you have other things in between? Um not yet. But if everyone likes this method, we can certainly add more grid sizes because it is helpful depending on like how big you want to scale it up. Um, but this is just a good place to start. Um, so taking the uh traced pattern piece that I made, I would cut this out so we can preserve our original and this one we can play with to upsize. So then you could cut this out and trace it onto the grid. So, I've done that here. And each point on the grid um represents a point on the pattern. So, you would um count how many squares over and redraw each of the shapes that you see in each point on the grid onto the upsized paper. So, since this is going to get larger, I made a couple copies and taped the sheets together, four of them together, which that makes sense. So, then I had enough space to um resize this pattern. So, I redrrew each of the points on the graph paper just matching um so that way I could preserve the exact shape and dimensions, proportions. And this technique is really helpful when working with pattern pieces that have curves or unique angles and things like that. Okay. Reminds me of like art class when you would take the photo and and put it on. Yeah. Exactly. It takes it back to what we learned. [laughter] Yes. Um so So are you real particular about like these points? Do you divide your your smaller grid into smaller grids and try to make sure or do you just kind of eyeball it? Um typically I've eyeballed, but that's a great idea. So that way if it's not quite centered, you can draw in the lower quadrant um to make sure that you get the the correct angle from the original design. Okay, very cool. I like that. So then um here you can see it is significantly larger now. And um if you do measure the width of this bottom length side, it is doubled here if you need to just double check anything. So, it does end up being quite larger. Um, the original hardware, too. So, hardware is another key component when upsizing. Um, we used a 4 in purse frame. Okay. And this one might actually be a little large. Um, so maybe at a smaller scale would be good um for the fit. Is there a bigger one? Is there like an 8 in or? Um, right now we just have the two sizes, but it would this is also a great way to to test. So now we know that we would need to go somewhere in between and maybe using that first scale method with the pattern piece would be better to make sure that it fits the hardware size. So this would end up being at a 200% um up size. So you might want to go down to like a 150 or something like that. Exactly. Yeah. So, it's it's always good to just draw it out and um see if it's the the right size for your project. Excellent. I love that. All right. And you have one more quick method to show us. Yes. One more method. So, I'm going to set this. These are so great. I love this these ideas. It really is like it's very creative and there's a lot of different ways to do kind of like get to the same point, but like they vary based on how much bigger or smaller you want to make it, right? Mhm. Exactly. Cool. So hopefully it inspires, you know, depending on whatever pattern anyone is using and wants to upsize that there's a method that would work best for that pattern. So then for the final method of resizing, it would be if you have a pattern that has measure and cut. So using a rotary cutter and ruler, and it would be kind of similar to the first technique with using the percentages. Mhm. So, whichever scale that you want to upsize to, you would multiply the length and the width of each piece by either 50% if you want to scale it down or 150% to scale it up. Um, and you would do that for most of the pieces. Um, in some cases, you kind of have to look ahead and decide proportionally when you're upsizing. Some pieces might end up staying the same size as the original pattern. So, for example, the zipper tabs, those wouldn't need to be upsized. Good point. Good point. You don't need a you don't need a zipper tab this big. Right. Exactly. Um or maybe a certain pocket would fit the upsized bag just fine. So, look at your pockets. Well, if like if one of them has a small pocket, you could just do two small pockets. Or maybe some people like a really thin strap instead of a thick strap, so you wouldn't necessarily have to double that. or whatever, right? Yes. Okay. Yes, for sure. Excellent. And a lot of times too, whichever method that you choose, it's really helpful to just trace it out on some paper templates. Mhm. So, moving to the Clarice pattern, these are the templates that I was using and I created to upsize the bag. And this is just a great time to make sure that any placement of closures um or hardware will be positioned well within the side the new the new size of the project. Okay. Um so this is the original Mia. So this is one of the upsized MAS. So this is the handbag size and then the new tote bag size. Okay. And at this point too, sometimes I'll make multiple pieces out of the template material and pin them together to test to see if it's going to end up the size that I what you had in mind. Okay. Mhm. Very cool. So, it's helpful to even draw out pockets or if you have a magnetic snap on a different if this has a magnetic snap closure instead, then you can look ahead at the instructions and if the original pattern calls for one inch down from the top, would you want to keep that? Or maybe move it down to one and a half or two inches and just experiment with that. That's very smart. So, it's very helpful to um create these pieces, too. Nice. Now, do you carry this? Like this is tracing paper. It doesn't have an adhesive on either side. So, this is just a pattern tracing material. Okay. And I'm not sure the brand. I know there's a couple different ones out there. Some do have the grid on them, too. Okay. Okay. So, there's a wide. Okay. No, we don't. But very cool. Yeah. It's very helpful to have on hand. It really is. And especially, I would think with digital patterns, I've been um also a little bit intimidated. I do love like the idea of making clothing, but the idea of printing out a pattern and then having to tape together a bunch of 8 and 1 half by 11 sheets is very overwhelming to me. So, I feel like even if I traced them out, the paper itself would be kind of difficult to work with. I'm used to the the thinner pattern paper. And I really like this. This is a good idea for a good tool to have. And this is pinable, too. So, you can pin it right to your fabric versus like that. And it would be then reusable. Yes, for sure. I love that. Can fold it up and store it with your pattern. I love that. That's great stuff. All right. So, now that we've covered kind of the basics of the cutting instructions and upscaling the fabrics for the project, I wanted to talk about some of the embellishments and um closure options. So, all right. This here is uh the clarice for the handbag size. And I've prepped a few options so we can kind of walk through because now that the bag is a little bigger um it's good to consider different handle styles um and how you want to carry it just like how we were talking about earlier. So there are so many options that I didn't even know existed. Yeah, exactly. It's the creative [laughter] the possibilities are endless and my mind is just worrying. I love it. Oh, cool. Yeah, and with the hardware it's really fun. So, um I'm going to set aside a few different options. So, these might look kind of different and unique. These are strap connectors versus making this like a little stone. That's so cool. So, this um is unique because you can cover the center with whatever fabric that you want to coordinate with your bag. So, that's amazing. Kind of like a covered button, but you would then like attach it and then loop your strap through it. That's so cool. [laughter] Um, so those are really fun to play with and I'll I'll show them here in a minute. So the the zipper length has gotten a little bit longer since we've upsized the Mia. I kept the tabs the same size like I mentioned before. So that's prepped for the project. So these So when you put this, do you sew right over that zipper and it doesn't hurt like the needle on your sewing machine? Mhm. Yeah. So, the nylon coil is really soft and flexible and um I haven't broken a needle yet sewing over it. So, other question I have. So, I noticed that like earlier your zipper didn't have the pull tab on it. How do you put that on? Oh, yeah. So, if your zipper doesn't [laughter] have a I don't know. Yeah. Oh, it's super easy. It takes a little bit of practice. Um you can use a tool called a zipper jig to help get the pull on. Otherwise, you can put them on by hand. I do have tutorials on my YouTube channel with like different techniques. Okay, I will be looking those up for sure. Definitely. Yeah, they're super helpful. That's what they're there for. So then, um you can add other hardware like a handmade label. Oh, that's cute. So now that we have like more of an area to play with, um this next step out here, I after adding the foam, I decided to add some quilting. So now that this is a little larger, you could do like a pieced um panel here, like a little you you could even put like a little block in there, a quilt block or something. That would be so cute. You could add embroidery, um bead work. There's lots of options. And I do have a sample with some patchwork piecing. We just pieced together some scraps and had some fun playing with that larger space. I love that. So, now getting into some of the hardware. So, here is what an example would be with the textured loop strap connectors. If you wanted to add a handle onto your Clarice handbag, okay? Um, so you would cut your fabric out of your contrast fabric to make a strap and feed it through this top D-ring and stitch it in place and attach it to the opposite side. Now, how do you attach this part though? Is there like Oh, okay. So, it has like a plate on the back and you put the things through and bend them. Yes. It's just like So that has to do then before you put it on the lining. You have to get that done. Yes. So you'll want to add any embellishments to the exterior um before you assemble the full exterior together. So now is the time to add any of these fun details. I love that. That's very cool. And if you've have you installed a magnetic stamp before? I did that. Um I I looked up your tutorial and followed it very carefully. Oh, yay. And I ended up doing it a couple times, which worked out really well. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be. Although, I will say in the video, you just like folded those things back like it was nothing. And I was like, "Oh my gosh, that's so much harder." They're so strong. Yeah. So, you might want like a little pair of pliers or something just in case it's hard for your hands to bend that back. Yes. Was a little bit deceptive because you were just like, [laughter] but I imagine you've done it a million times. Strong though. So, um, so these, yeah, like you had mentioned, they're very similar to magnetic snap. They just have more prongs and just the different washer on the back side. So, you cut your slits for each of the prongs. We're just really um pulling back the curtain on how purses are made. That's so cool, right? Isn't it neat to see like the behind the scenes here? I love that. So, that's one option. And then to take it up another level, um, so this hardware, these are called fabric coverage strap connectors. They're installed the same way with the prongs and washers. Um, but I can take one out of the package here to show. Yeah, I'm curious how that goes together. It looks so professional and beautiful. It's really fun. So, it comes with a little template that you would cut your contrast fabric out of. Okay? And you unscrew this center part. All right. And the fabric wraps around the metal and you just glue it in place. And I I use some sewing clips and I let it dry for usually overnight and then I'll screw it in place. Um and then you can install it onto your bag. That's so neat. I really love that. That's awesome. I feel like you could actually I mean technically you could probably like hand paint that too. Yeah, that would be really pretty. That's a great idea. So many fun ideas. Who knows? Yeah, I've um my mom gave me the idea the other day to fussy cut if you had like a printed material and you could have a little um piece of the motif right on the the front of the hardware. So nice. Very fun. I love it. And then you would continue on with the rest of the pattern. Okay. Um let me take these little tags off. So these are our these are the lining. Yes. And um for this project, the original Mia did not have any pockets on the inside. Um so we added some a lining slip pocket and a zipper pocket on the inside of this one too. So it was good to have that paper template from before to kind of play with what size would fit well, how far down from the top would um we want the pocket positioned. as well as considering like the bottom corners too. Nice. And then the other thing is like so I see this pocket and in my mind it's like okay well that's that's kind of big but what if I wanted like to put I could put a seam here and have like this is perfect for my phone and this is perfect for like a couple of pens or something like that where I could sort of divide it up if I wanted to. For sure. Yeah. Okay. So you could just draw a vertical line and just top stitch however you wanted it divided into different compartments. Cool. Sounds fun. [laughter] It's very fun. So, I'm I think I could totally do this if I had you with me in my sewing room. Deal. Cool. That'd be fun. Okay. So, I'm going to set the handbag aside and I'm going to bring over the tote. Since we're scaling up another size from the handbag size, um then there are more options for handles and I'm talking about some interior pocket options, too. Perfect. All right. So, here I have the tote size version of Clarice. And this is where it gets really fun because now you have these larger pieces that you can experiment with um auditioning different handle options um and doing different quilting. And I wanted to show one of the samples that I brought along with where we used a cheater panel, too. So, you don't always have to add Can we bring it forward so we can see it better? Let's do it. So, this has like the This is one of those pre preprinted like quilting panels. Yes. That's so cute. And and then we've got some other like you did some fun quilting back here. I love that. Yeah. Isn't that cool? And this was um a really fun print. This is by Hollyanne Knight from String and Story. I thought so. I wasn't going to like try and call it out cuz I'm never like 100% sure, but yeah, that looked very familiar. I love it. So, it's a fun way to practice freeotion quilting. And then this is a great thing to do with it. Yeah. Yeah. So any of those test sandwiches that you work with to do the freeotion, then you can turn it into a bag. I love that. It's such a good idea. So I think that one turned out really pretty. It very cute. So and there's tons of color options, too. You could um feature some bold fabrics and hardware. And then we have like some other I do love all the different colors of the metal. That's really fun. You've got like the kind of like the steel grayish or black or whatever and then the brass and rose gold. I don't know. I'm just making these up. I don't know if these are the actual names, but like I love all the variety. And then this pink one is so cute. This is like you um collab with Tula. Yes. That's Tula's uh signature pink and it goes perfectly with all of her fabrics. So that was a fun one to pair together, too. That's so great. I love that. So, here we have the cork on the bottom. This is um a unique cork fabric. That's one of the kit options. So, it's fun to play with and it's got that denim backing behind it. So, I decided to So, these are pre like pre-attached. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So, the fabric comes done like this for you. Awesome. [laughter] Um so, then I decided to pull the natural cork and feature that for some handle options. Um, so this is a free pattern and tutorial on our YouTube channel for how to make your own handles in custom sizes. So there are different handle shapes included in the project. So if you're looking to make your own handles um I have that as an option. And then you can also choose to just do the flat handles or if you want to add hardware then um you can have this um folded edge as well. So, it kind of looks like a a piped edge or a thicker edge there, too. That's great. Um, so here we have more of like the teard drop shape. And I just have these positioned with some sewing clips and would sew here, making sure to stay away from the seam allowance area up top. Okay. So, I would only sew because you're going to add your handle before your zipper. Yes. Okay. So before any of the final assembly, then add any embellishments to the front and back panels. So it's the perfect time to play with some handle options. Love it. And now I feel like the hardest part is choosing. You know, we I need to like see them all side by side and compare and then I would get overwhelmed. [laughter] Oh, I know. There's so many good ones. That's why I have so many bags, right? When will Yeah. You just can't stop. Yeah. That's so great. So then, um, just to show kind of without the handles, so if you want a more streamline, minimalist look. Okay. Um, but to position the handles, I have some double-sided tape. And then you can kind of play with sticking it to the front of the bag to see um, how far you want them or uh, within that top panel there, too. So, and so to center them up, like do you just do like a simple fold in the middle, find your center, and measure down a certain, you know, from the top. I'm sure that's all in your patterns, right? all the details and then do you have little tutorials on how to like figure all this stuff out? Yes, I knew it. I just knew it. It's so much fun. Um, so yeah, you could find the center, measure down with your ruler and use some chalk or an erasable marker, whatever your favorite tool is, something that would disappear or be removed, and then you can position so that you have them perfectly placed. Cool. I like that. So, another fun option when upsizing. So, then also once you have these big panels, now you have lots of room to play with pockets on the inside because if you just had a big empty tote, you may want um additional divided slip pocket or um or a pocket for my laptop. Your laptop, which I love. That is so good. So, this is included in the pattern instructions for how to make this padded laptop pocket, but essentially it's a slip pocket with a layer of foam where the air that air mesh. Yes. The other thing I'm I'm noticing this is like in the very bottom, which this would be a bottom seam, right? Mhm. And so then it will fold in. So the corners um will end up getting cut out. So then this would fold towards the base. Just a little bit. Yeah. So you could certainly position it a little higher um if you wanted to keep it out, but then measuring where the box corners are to know where the base of the purse is. Yes, exactly. Excellent. I like that. You haven't made this. No, I've made Well, so the the bottom part and like the boxing the corners, I've done that with totes. So that part is more familiar to me. And so I do kind of understand how like when you take that seam in then this base is gonna like fold in and become the bottom of your bag. So I that that I'm more familiar with a lot of the other stuff is just foreign. Every project you like build those skills and that knowledge and then it just becomes more and more familiar. It really does. So I love it. Cool. Yeah. And then on the opposite side I just added the slip pocket too. That's so great. I did want to mention too um about rivets. So these are so if you do add some handles or um if you want to reinforce the strap connectors on your bag, you can install those after the project is complete. Okay. And even install them through the lining. Um special tools for that. So these I recommend uh using a rotary punch to cut the hole for the rivet. And then um we do have rivet setting tools. They're just a set of hand tools that you would use a hammer and set them. So they're a lot of fun and um you can add them to your your strap pieces too to further secure the swivel hook and and things like that. But that's cool. All those little details, the finishing is what just makes it so unique and beautiful. I love that. All it is so fun once you start looking at all the possibilities. So, well, Jess, thank you so much for joining me today and teaching me all about bag making. I'm really excited to get started. And I'm so glad that we were able to collaborate and put together these great kits because now I know that when I'm ready, I can just grab a kit. It has everything that I need to get the bag going and then I can customize from there. And I'm really excited to know that you have all of these tutorials teaching about like all the little steps and places where I might get hung up. So, where else can everybody else out there find you online? I'm I'm sure you have like Oh, yeah. So, and I'm really excited to to have shared this with you and hope that it inspired um and had some helpful tips with the upsizing and everything. So, you can find me on YouTube. We have a YouTube channel with lots of tutorials um on social media and sallytomato.com. Cool. All right. Well, it's been really great um an honor having you here and I hope you guys have all enjoyed it and we will see you next time. Enjoy your bag making. Bye. Hey quilty friends, we are so excited. We have something really special to [music] share today. That is right. Believe it or not, we have a million subscribers here on the Missouri Star YouTube channel. And we are so excited. Yes, it really is unbelievable. I know when we first started our YouTube videos years ago, we never imagined that we would have a community this size and this wonderful. From the bottom of our hearts, we just want to thank all of you for being a part of the Missouri Star family. That's right. Thank you so much for joining us on this wild ride. We are so [music] excited to have reached a million subscribers and we are going to have so many more quilts and so much more fun in the future. [music] I can't wait to see what happens next. I can't either and we hope that you will join us for the ride. We'll see you later. Bye.