Fabric Help, purse linings

[Alosha]

I just lined a purse & am not very happy with the fabric (muslin), it seems too lightweight. Any suggestions for fabric types would be greatly appreciated since I am making some totes for gifts. Thanks

Alosha

[simonssez]

I like to use decorator fabric (more of a duck/canvas weight) or heavy weight silky/satiny blends. I've made 2 of Celeste's bobbling along aran totes. Both of them I've lined with a satiny finish, rayon blend clothing type fabric.

[Alosha]

Thank you, sounds like what I'm looking for. I walk into a fabric store & get confused with all the choices. Another question, do you pre-wash the fabric?

Alosha

[simonssez]

Some might...I don't. I usually wash everything when its done b/c I have a dog and don't like to gift things covered in dog hair! ha ha! Seems to be fine doing it that way. Although if you're using something with a high %age of cotton I would probably prewash to prevent mis shaping.

[Alosha]

With me, it's cat hair, though I think some gets woven in despite washing, lol.

I appreciate the help. I'm going fabric shopping tomorrow & it's nice to have a better idea of what Im looking for.

Alosha

[judianne]

I just lined a purse & am not very happy with the fabric (muslin), it seems too lightweight. Any suggestions for fabric types would be greatly appreciated since I am making some totes for gifts. Thanks

Alosha

i just finished a tote and lined it with a complemetary color.

it's cotton, so i washed the piece first to make sure it was preshrunk, then pinned it, fitting it to the bag while still allowing a bit of play in the measurements - just in case - then i machine stitched it before attaching it by hand. hope this helps.:2hug

[snugsmontreal]

i make tons of purses and line them too i always use satin or satiny fabrics. they are great, hold up well, and come in great colors.

p.s. a little hint for good deals check the remnant stack in fabric stores or walmart, they are always big enough for purse lining but not really big enough for much else. good luck

[Alosha]

Thanks everyone. I have 3 bags sitting here, waiting to be lined & a shopping trip planned for tomorrow. Will definitely check Walmart's remnant bin.

Alosha

[Sylviaf]

I generally use pretty cottons. They are durable and easy to work with (although I'm sure the satins are beautiful).

[Llinn]

Honestly I like to check Goodwill and similar thrift stores for big used jeans and line a lot of stuff with denim. Kids absolutely love it.

 

Llinn

[hookermom]

Honestly I like to check Goodwill and similar thrift stores for big used jeans and line a lot of stuff with denim. Kids absolutely love it.

 

Llinn

 

Ditto that.

 

Suit-jackets are another great source of lining material. Depending on the make, lining is usually acetate or nylon (knitted weave). Both are great for lining purses.

[Empress Busy Bee]

I use a matching or complementary cotton fabric. I just look to see what I think will suit the person who's getting the purse and will go with the 'theme' if I have one.

You probably could use most anything that you feel is suitable.

[sherryzzz]

I like to use fun cotton prints in a contrasting color - a little "surprise" when you open the purse!

[Tiga]

I get "Fat Quarters" from the quilting section when they are on sale for 99 cents - they come in some outrageous colors, and are sturdier than clothing cotton (tighter weave, usually). A fat quarter is 18" x 22", so one or two will fit the largest of tote bags and one has always been enough for a purse for me.

 

I still need to get better at lining, though. I just made a fat-bottomish bag, and I sewed it together before lining, so I'm kind of stuck. Ugh.

[Debbi-a1]

I just ended up finding some fabric in the craft section of walmart (ours still has that section!).

I might try the fat quarters next time though. I just finished another bag, bigger this time, I didn't measure it so I will and maybe that would work better then just fabric. Hmm..

Thanks for all the help. I can't sew at all, so I hand sewed mine and I need more pracrtice too

Debbi

[sherryzzz]

I did it in RH WW yarn and it's an open stitch (Nordstrom Hobo Bag CAL) so I will definately need a lining.

I also bought some bulky yarn to make this purse (didn't work well for me:blush ) so I'm going to do another purse. I think if I did a tighter stitch I could get away with a lighter lining. True?

 

 

The Nordstrom Hobo Bag CAL has info in it on lining these bags. I've made these bags with a bulky weight yarn and with lighter yarn. With the bulky, I used fewer shell repeats (like 9 instead of 11) to start so the bag wouldn't be too wide and floppy. But even with the lighter weight yarn, due to the nature of the stitches used (shells), the bag still needs lining as the pattern is open in nature. One option is to have the wrong side of your fabric showing on the inside of the bag so that the right side is the side peeking out between the shells.