Hey! Cut/Sew Ita Bag Pattern Tutorial

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first post on my blog! This will be a very image heavy tutorial on how to make the Cut/Sew ita bag pattern. I recently became a rep for Cut/Sew, and this pattern was sent to me to make! Cut/Sew has pattern instructions for the ita bag HERE. I will be going more in depth and showing lots of pictures, but bear with me as the clear vinyl can be difficult to see in photos!

As the card attached to the pattern says, you will need the following materials:
3/4 yard fabric (I chose flannel)
1/2 yard lining fabric (I chose broadcloth)
3/4 yard clear vinyl (I got mine at Jo-Ann, it can be found on a larger roll along with the other upholstery/vinyl fabrics. I got a medium weight one.)
1/2 yard fusible stabilizer*

*When I first got materials for this project, I got a 1/2 yard of medium weight Pellon fusible interfacing. The rolls of Pellon at Jo-Ann are NOT wide enough - when I spoke to Cut/Sew about this they said that the pattern is meant for fabric/interfacing 52 inches or wider. Therefore, you have to get more interfacing than what is stated.
Another thing to note is that the pattern itself asks for two different types of interfacing - one 'light' and one 'craft.' I got ONE YARD of each type, which was enough with a little bit to spare! I used plain white thread for the entire project.

This is what the pattern looks like out of the bag. The paper is nice and thick, unlike standard tissue paper patterns, making them really easy to cut out and reuse in the future! As you can see, there are six pattern pieces total. Let's cut them out!

Once all of my lining and outside fabric pieces were cut out, I cut out my interfacing and clear vinyl pieces. Make sure not to pin the pattern pieces to the vinyl, or you'll puncture holes through the vinyl.

The pattern instructions have you sew the outer vinyl bag first, but for the sake of this guide, I'm showing the inner bag first. The process for the inner and outer bags are nearly identical, but the clear vinyl is hard to see in photos so it makes more sense this way!

The first step is to iron your interfacing onto your outside fabric pieces: both straps, both heart shaped pieces, and the side panel.

One of the two strap pieces, lightweight interfacing ironed on

Both heart shaped pieces and the side panel, heavyweight craft interfacing ironed on

Now, you'll take each strap and fold it in half horizontally, pinning down the long raw edge and one of the short ends.

Once you've sewn each strap, clip the corners and seam allowence and turn them inside out. You should have two strap pieces and your bag's pattern/right side should now be out, with the interfacing and seams inside. You'll still have one unfinished edge, so use your fingers to tuck the raw edge in, then stitch it closed.

Next, fold your straps in half horizontally once again. Pin all the way down the length of the strap, but leave 2 inches on each end. Do not stitch these 2 inch ends shut, this is where the straps will attach to the bag at the end.

Both straps, sewn along the edge

Two inches on each end left open

Moving on to the main event, the heart shape! Take your side panel that you ironed heavyweight craft interfacing to not too long ago. Match the end up to the notch on one of the heart shaped pieces. You should be putting your fabric's patterned/right sides together.

Line the side panel up to the heart shaped piece all the way around until you reach the notch on the other side. It may take awhile to get it to match up correctly. Cutting small notches while pinning, especially in areas where things aren't matching up, will help the fabric lay a bit flatter and line up better.

Once you've sewn the side panel onto the first heart piece, clip the seam allowance and add some more notches to make it less bulky later on.

Now do the same process, but sewing the side panel to the other heart piece, putting right sides together again.

Side panel pinned to the other heart shaped piece

Once you've sewn them together, the whole bag should look like this. Clip your seam allowance down and add in the notches.

Now you can flip the bag right side out, and move on to the lining! Starting with the cell phone pocket, take all four raw edges and fold them in, then iron them flat. Take the top edge that you've just ironed, and fold it over once more, creating what is called a rolled hem, where the raw edge is rolled inside and not visible. Stitch your top edge closed.

Lay the cell phone pocket down in the center of one of your heart shaped lining pieces. Pin it in place and sew along the edges. Here's how it looks with a cell phone inside, how cute!

Now, you'll repeat the exact same process as the fabric bag you just did. Take the side panel piece, match it up to the notch on the side of the heart shaped piece, and pin it in place all the way around to the notch on the other side. Sew them together, then attach the side panel to the other heart piece, just like before.

Seam allowance clipped after sewing

Now comes the trickiest part of the whole project, so go forth carefully! You should have your lining bag (mint green in my case) inside out - seams on the outside, cell phone pocket on the inside. Your fabric bag (purple gingham) should be right side out - all of the interfacing and seams on the inside, patterned/right side out. 


Put your fabric bag INSIDE the lining bag, as shown below.

Pin along the top edge, all the way around the bag, then sew. Leave an open gap of about 2-3 inches somewhere. This will allow you to flip the bag right side out when you're done.

Clip your seam allowance and add some notches all the way around. Make sure to clip especially close on both inward points of the heart, and where the side panels connect to reduce bulk. Then, reach into the gap you left and begin flipping the bag out. It should look like this, all of the fabric patterns/right sides should be facing the correct way, and the cell phone pocket should be in the right spot on the bag lining.

Iron the top edge of the bag to make everything flat, then pin around the entire top edge again. Topstitch close to the edge all the way around for a clean finish.

Finished inner bag, before adding straps

The last step for the inner bag is adding the straps. Center each end of each strap to the outside of the bag and pin in place. Stitch a square, then an X in the middle to secure them tightly.

The inner bag is done! Now we'll move on to the outer bag. The photos may be harder to see, but the process is nearly identical to the inner bag so it's no sweat!

The first step for the inner bag is doing a rolled hem on the side panel. Fold each edge over, then over again. Tape it in place if needed (I recommend using tape for the entire outer bag rather than pins, as pins will puncture the vinyl!) and sew.

Now you'll repeat the same process as the outer bag - attach the side panel to the heart shaped piece at the side notch. Make several notches to help the pieces lay flat, and tape all the way around to the notch on the other side. I hope my little illustrations are helpful!

Once you've sewn the pieces together, it should look like this. Clip the seam allowance closely.

Side panel and first heart piece sewn together

Attach the side panel to the other heart piece, taping from one notch to the other just like before.

Your outer bag should now look like this after it's been turned right side out!

The last step is the straps. Since you can't use an iron or pins on this material, tape should be used to fold the edges of each strap in. If you feel more confident, you can skip this step and just fold the edges with your fingers as you go.

Illustrated to show the tape more clearly

Once all of the edges are folded and taped, fold the entire strap in half horizontally. Remove the tape as you go, and place the tape on the outside. This part was a little confusing so I hope it makes sense.

Sew all the way down the long edge of the strap, with the edges folded inside. Your straps should look like this, no raw edges should be on the outside. The short ends should also be tucked inside, just like the three steps I showed for the straps on the inner bag.

Same as the inner bag straps, attach each strap to the outside of each heart shaped piece. Tape them in place if you need. Stitch a square, then an X shape to secure them.

After you've done this with both straps, the outer bag is now done! Woo-hoo! Here's what it should look like.

Now that both the outer and inner bags are done, you can put them together and get your full ita bag! 

Overall, I'm really happy with how mine turned out and I think it's super cute! I hope this guide could be of some help to any of you who are making this pattern. If anyone has any questions or needs more clarification, leave a comment down below or message me on any of my social media! Last but not least, check out CUT/SEW on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and INSTAGRAM!! If you want to make an ita bag of your own, use my coupon code HARUU10 for 10% off, or message me for a commission. Happy sewing!