Patchwork Bible Bag

Some projects linger on the want-to-make list for a long time, and some projects (like this one!) just get made without ever getting onto the list!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking the links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

A friend of mine got confirmed into the Catholic church on Easter weekend and was having her first communion. I'm not Catholic, but knew this was an important milestone in her faith, so wanted to get her a gift. I researched appropriate gifts for adults and decided to get her a Catholic Bible. But if you give a mouse a cookie...

A Bible needed a bag to put it in! I knew I had the perfect fabric in my stash - it's one of the Songbook collections by Fancy That Design House for Moda. I've made a few mini quilts with the same fabric, and I just love the hymn panels in the collection. (See one of the mini quilts I made here.)

Now, this post needs a disclaimer: I do not have much experience making 3-D objects, and I decided to make this up as I went. No pattern. I just measured the Bible and went for it. So I wasn't expecting it to work on the first try, so I didn't take very many pictures of the process. But spoiler alert: it DID work on the first try!!

I sewed squares together to make a patchwork back for the bag, and I sewed a border on the small hymn panel and surrounded that with squares for the front. I quilted those two panels onto 80/20 batting scraps with a cream colored Aurifil 50wt thread and my walking foot. 

I trimmed those panels to size and sewed them together, then made a matching lining. I cut away the corners to make boxed corners for the bag. I decided on the measurement by using the "that looks good" method. 

Of course I don't have pictures when I made the straps. I made a fabric tube, pulled a strip of batting through it, then added several lines of quilting to give them some strength and structure. I clipped the strips in-between the lining and outside pieces before sewing around the top edge.

I left a small opening between the straps for turning it inside out. In hindsight, I should have done this on the back of the bag instead of the front. I was worried I might pull the quilting stitches out, but it worked out okay!

When I finished turning it right sides out, I'm surprised you didn't hear my scream of excitement! I couldn't believe it worked!! It really looked like a bag!

You can see the final top stitching in the photo above right around the top edge that closed up that opening above the panel. The only thing I would like to be different on the bag is the spacing of the handles. When you pick up the bag, the center section with the panel bunches up slightly. If the handles were about 1" closer together, that wouldn't happen. 

But overall, I am thrilled with how it turned out!

Then another if you give a mouse a cookie moment happened. I found a pack of pens and highlighters that matched the colors in the fabric to add to the gift. And if you have pens and highlighters, you need a zipper pouch to put them in!

I used some of the leftover fabrics to make the front and back patchwork panels. (I couldn't decide on the zipper color, so I took a picture to see if that helped. The bundle of zippers I bought didn't have navy, so gray was closest!)

I pressed some fusible fleece to the back of the panels to give them some more strength, then added a couple lines of quilting.

Zippers always make me nervous, but I followed this tutorial and it worked perfectly!

See?! The pens matched so well!

Now the gift was complete. 

I admit, I'm pretty smitten with how it turned out. 

I think I should make one for myself now! 

If When I make another one, I'll try to remember to take more in-progress photos. Would you like a tutorial so you can make one too??

I attended my friend's confirmation, and it was a beautiful service.

And she loved the gift!

I still have several of these mini hymn panels left, but the main fabrics are down to scraps.

I better put my own patchwork Bible bag higher up on my want-to-make list so I don't use the fabrics in something else before it gets made!